i 
& 


m 


LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALSWORTH. 

Received  October,  1894. 
Accessions  NoS*i<.      class  No. 


NEW    WORKS, 
BY    ERNEST    RENAN, 

Uniform  with  this  volume,  price  $1.75. 

I. — THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS. 
II. — THE  APOSTLES. 
HI.— SAINT  PAUL. 


The  works  of  Ernest  Kenan  are  of  great  power  and  learning, 

earnestly  and  honestly  written,  beautiful  in  style, 

admirable  in  treatment,  and  filled  with 

reverence,  tenderness,  and 

warmth  of  heart. 

%*  Single  copies  sent  by  mail,  free,  on  receipt  of  price,  by 

CARLETON,    PUBLISHER, 

New    York, 


SAINT    PAUL 


BY 


ERNEST    RENAN, 

MEMBRE    DE   L'INSTITVT. 
AUTHOR  OF    "THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,"    "THE   APOSTLES,"    ETC. 


Translated  from  the  Original  French  by 
INGERSOLL  LOCKWOOD. 


NEW    YORK: 

G,  W,   CARLETON,    PUBLISHER 

PARIS  :    MICHEL    LEVY    FRERES. 
M  DCCC  LXIX. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 

GEORGE   W.   CARLETON, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


Stereotyped  by 

THOMAS  P.  PEABODY  &  Co., 

Eighth  Street  and  Avenue  A, 

New  York. 


TO 


CORNELIA    SCHEFFER. 


WE  have  visited  together  Ephesus  and  Antioch,  Philippi  and 
Thessalonica,  Athens  and  Corinth,  Colossae  and  Laodicea. 
Never,  upon  these  difficult  and  dangerous  routes,  did  I  hear 
thee  murmur;  as  in  our  journeyings,  so  in  the  free  pursuit  of 
truth,  thou  hast  never  said  to  me,  "Pause."  At  Seleucia, 
upon  the  disjointed  blocks  of  the  old  mole,  we  somewhat  envied 
the  apostles  who  set  out  from  there  to  conquer  the  world,  filled 
with  so  fervent  a  faith  in  the  speedy  coming  of  the  kingdom 
of  God.  Of  a  truth,  those  expectations  of  something  material 
and  near  at  hand  infused  into  their  action  an  energy  which  we 
no  longer  possess.  But,  though  less  determined  in  form,  still  is 
our  faith  in  the  ideal  reign  none  the  less  strong.  All  is  symbol 
and  dream  here  below.  Descartes  was  right  in  not  believing  in 
the  reality  of  the  world  until  he  had  satisfied  himself  of  the 
existence  of  God.  Kant  was  right  in  doubting  everything 

until  he  had  discovered  duty.     Our  youth  has  witnessed  days 

(v) 


vi  DEDICATION. 

of  sorrow,  and  I  am  fearful  that  Fate  has  stored  up  no  good  for 
us  in  this  world.  A  few  grievous  errors  are  working  the  ruin 
of  our  country.  Those  warned  of  them,  smile.  In  the  hour 
of  trial,  be  for  me  what  thou  wast  when  we  visited  the  seven 
Churches  of  Asia, —  the  faithful  companion  who  never  withdraws 
her  hand  from  the  one  which  it  has  once  clasped. 


CONTENTS. 


PAO* 

DEDICATION 3 

INTRODUCTION.  —  Critical  Examination  of  Original  Documents        9 
CHAPTER  I. — First  Journey  of  St.  Paul. — Mission  of  Cyprus    .       49 

CHAPTER  II.  —  Continuation  of  the  First  Journey  of  St.  Paul.  — 

Mission  of  Galatia 59 

0 

CHAPTER  III. — First  Trouble  arising  from  Circumcision    .         .       73 

CHAPTER  IV. — Secret  Propagation  of  Christianity. — Its  Intro- 
duction into  Rome     ........       92 

CHAPTER  V.  —  Second  Journey  of  St.  Paul.  —  Second  Sojourn  in 

Galatia     ..........     100 

CHAPTER  VI.  —  Continuation  of  the  Second  Journey  of  St.  Paul. 

—  Mission  of  Macedonia 109 

CHAPTER  VII.  —  Continuation  of  the  Second  Journey  of  St.  Paul. 

—  Paul  at  Athens 124 

CHAPTER  VIII.  —  Continuation  of  the  Second  Journey  of  St.  Paul. 

— First  Sojourn  at  Corinth      ......      145 

CHAPTER  IX.  —  Continuation  of  the  Second  Journey  of  St.  Paul. 

— First  Epistles. — Interior  State  of  the  New  Churches    .     153 

CHAPTER  X.  — Return  of  Paul  to  Antioch.  — Dispide  between  Peter 
and  Paul.  —  Counter  Mission  organized  by  James,  brother 

of  the  Lord 176 

(vii) 


8  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XI.  —  Troubles  in  the  Churches  of  Galatia   .         .         .192 

CHAPTER  XII.  —  Third  Journey  of  Paul. — Establishment  of  the 

Chzirch  of  Ephesus .     204 

CHAPTER  XIII. — Progress  of  Christianity  in  Asia  and  Phrygia     214 

CHAPTER  XIV. — Schisms  in  the  Church  of  Corinth. — Apollos. 

—  First  Scandals 222 

4 

CHAPTER  XV.  —  Continuation   of  the   Third  Mission   of  Paul.  — 

The  Great  Collection. — Departure  from  Ephesus    .         .251 

CHAPTER  XVI.  —  Continuation   of  the   Third  Mission.  —  Second 

Sojourn  of  Paul  in  Macedonia 261 

CHAPTER  XVII.  —  Continuation  of  the  Third  Mission.  —  Second 

Sojourn  of  Paul  at  Corinth.  —  The  Epistle  to  the  Romans.     272 

CHAPTER  XVIII. — Return  of  Paul  to  Jerusalem.        .        .        .     292 

CHAPTER  XIX. — Last    Sojourn    of  Paul  at    Jerusalem. — His 

Arrest       ..........     298 

CHAPTER  XX.  —  Captivity  of  Paul  at  Cesar ea  of  Palestine  .  .312 

CHAPTER  XXI.  —  Voyage  of  the  Prisoner  Paul    .        .        .  .319 

CHAPTER  XXII.—  A  Glance  at  the  Work  of  Paul       .        .  .     325 

NOTES «33i 


SAINT   PAUL 


INTRODUCTION. 

CRITICAL    EXAMINATION    OF    ORIGINAL    DOCUMENTS. 

THE  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  which  this  volume  contains 
the  religious  history,  are,  of  the  embryonic  age  of  Christianity, 
those  best  known  to  us.  Jesus  and  the  primitive  Church  of 
Jerusalem  resemble  the  images  of  a  distant  paradise,  lost  in  a 
mysterious  haze.  On  another  side,  the  arrival  of  St.  Paul  in 
Rome,  in  consequence  of  the  resolution  taken  by  the  author  of 
the  Acts  to  conclude  his  narrative  at  this  moment,  indicates,  in 
respect  to  the  history  of  the  origins  of  Christianity,  the  com- 
mencement of  a  profound  night,  into  which  the  gory  glimmer  of 
the  barbarous  festivities  of  Nero  and  the  thunderbolt  of  the 
Apocalypse  alone  throw  some  light.  In  particular,  is  the  death 
of  the  apostles  enveloped  in  an  impenetrable  obscurity.  On 
the  contrary,  the  time  of  the  missions  of  Paul,  especially  of  the 
second  and  third  mission,  is  known  to  us  through  documents  of 
the  greatest  value.  The  Acts,  up  to  this  so  legendary,  suddenly 
become  quite  substantial ;  the  last  chapters,  composed  in  part 
of  the  account  of  an  eye-witness,  are  the  only  completely 
historical  narrative  of  the  first  years  of  Christianity  in  our 
possession.  Finally,  by  a  privilege  very  rare  in  such  a  subject, 
these  years  offer  us  dated  documents,  of  absolute  authenticity ;  a 
series  of  letters,  the  most  important  of  which  are  proof  against 
all  criticism,  and  which  have  never  undergone  any  interpolations. 

In  the  introduction  to  the  preceding  volume,  we  made  an 

(9) 


io  SAINT  PAUL. 

examination  of  the  book  of  the  Acts.  We  are  now  to  discuss, 
in  due  order,  the  different  epistles  which  bear  the  name  of  St. 
Paul.  The  apostle  tells  us  himself  that  already  in  his  day  false 
letters1  were  circulating  in  his  name,  and  he  frequently  takes  the 
precaution  to  prevent  the  frauds.2  Hence  we  do  nothing  more 
than  conform  to  his  intentions  by  submitting  the  writings 
presented  to  us,  as  from  him,  to  a  severe  ordeal.  There  are 
fourteen  of  these  epistles  in  the  New  Testament,  and  we  must 
begin  by  classifying  them  into  two  categories.  Thirteen  of 
these  writings  contain  the  name  of  the  apostle  as  superscription, 
in  the  text  of  the  letter  ;  in  other  words,  these  letters  purport  to 
be  themselves  the  work  of  Paul ;  and  so  conclusively,  too,  that 
there  is  no  choice  left  us  between  these  two  hypotheses,  —  either 
that  Paul  is  in  reality  their  author,  or  that  they  are  the  work  of  a 
fabricator,  who  wished  to  make  his  compositions  pass  for  a 
production  of  Paul's.  The  fourth  epistle,  on  the  contrary,— 
the  one  to  the  Hebrews,  —  bears  no  superscription ; 3  the  author 
enters  upon  his  subject  without  naming  himself.  The  ascription 
of  this  epistle  to  Paul  is  founded  solely  upon  tradition. 

The  thirteen  epistles  which  themselves  purport  to  be  the 
work  of  Paul,  may,  in  regard  to  authenticity,  be  arranged  in  five 
classes :  — 

First.  Epistles  unquestionable  and  unquestioned;  namely, 
the  epistle  to  the  Galatians,  the  two  epistles  to  the  Corinthians, 
and  the  epistle  to  the  Romans. 

Second.  Certain  epistles  to  which,  however,  objections  have 
been  raised ;  namely,  the  two  epistles  to  the  Thessalonians  and 
the  epistle  to  the  Philippians. 

Third.  Epistles  of  probable  authenticity,  although  open  to 
grave  objections;  namely,  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians,  to 
which  is  annexed  the  note  to  Philemon. 

Fourth.  Doubtful  epistle ;  namely,  the  epistle  to  the  Ephe- 
sians. 

Fifth.  False  epistles ;  namely,  the  two  epistles  to  Timothy 
and  the  epistle  to  Titus. 


SAINT  PAUL.  II 

We  have  nothing  to  say  here  concerning  the  epistles  of  the 
first  category ;  the  most  exacting  critics,  such  as  Christian  Bauer, 
accept  them  without  objection.  Nor  shall  we  scarcely  dwell 
upon  the  epistles  of  the  second  class.  The  difficulties  which 
certain  ones  of  modern  times  have  raised  against  them  consist 
in  those  slight  suspicions  which  it  is  the  duty  of  criticism  to 
express  freely,  but  not  to  dwell  upon  when  more  cogent  reasons 
oppose  it.  Now  these  three  epistles  possess  a  character  of 
authenticity  which  overcomes  every  other  consideration.  The 
only  serious  difficulty  which  has  been  raised  against  the  epistles 
to  the  Thessalonians  results  from  the  theory  of  Anti-Christ,  ex- 
pounded in  the  second  chapter  of  the  second  epistle,  —  a  theory 
apparently  identical  with  that  of  the  Apocalypse,  and  which  would 
consequently  lead  us  to  suppose  that  Nero  was  already  dead 
when  the  piece  was  written.  But  this  objection  permits  itself 
to  be  overcome,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  course  of  the  present 
volume.  The  author  of  the  Apocalypse  did  nothing  more  than 
apply  to  his  day  a  collection  of  ideas,  one  part  of  which  dated 
back  to  the  very  sources  of  the  Christian  belief,  while  the  other 
was  introduced  toward  the  time  of  Caligula. 

The  epistle  to  the  Colossians  has  been  subjected  to  the  test 
of  much  graver  objections.  Certain  it  is  that  expressions  made 
use  of  in  this  epistle  to  designate  the  role  of  Jesus  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Divinity,  as  Creator  and  prototype  of  all  creation,4  show 
very  plainly  alongside  of  the  language  of  certain  epistles,  and 
appear  to  favor  the  style  of  the  writings  attributed  to  John. 
In  reading  such  passages,  we  imagine  ourselves  in  complete 
gnosticism.5  The  language  of  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians  does 
not  follow  that  of  certain  epistles ;  the  expressions  are  some- 
what different ; 6  the  style  has  more  emphasis  and  roundness,  less 
of  transport  and  feeling ;  |t  times,  it  is  embarrassed,  declama- 
tory, overladen,  analogous  '"to  the  style  of  the  false  epistles  to 
Timothy  and  Titus.  The  thoughts  are  about  such  as  might  be 
expected  from  Paul.  Nevertheless,  justification  through  faith 
no  longer  occupies  the  first  place  in  the  prepossessions  of  the 


12  SAINT  PAUL. 

apostle ;  the  theory  of  angels  is  much  more  developed ;  the 
eons  begin  to  arise.7  The  redemption  of  the  Messiah  is  no 
longer  a  mere  terrestrial  fact;  it  comprehends  the  entire  uni- 
verse.8 Certain  critics  have  deemed  it  in  their  power  to  point 
out,  in  several  passages,  either  imitations  of  other  epistles 9  or 
the  desire  to  conciliate  the  particular  tendency  of  Paul  with  the 
views  of  schools  different  from  his  own  (a  desire  so  evident 
with  the  author  of  the  Acts),  or  the  inclination  to  substitute 
moral  and  metaphysical  formulas,  such  as  love  and  science,  for 
the  formulas  concerning  the  faith  and  the  works,  which  during 
the  first  century  had  caused  so  many  struggles.  Other  critics, 
in  order  to  explain  this  strange  melange  of  things  suitable  to 
Paul  and  of  things  ill-suited  to  him,  have  recourse  to  interpola- 
tions, or  suppose  that  Paul  entrusted  to  Timothy  the  putting 
in  order  of  the  epistle  in  question.  It  is  certain  that  when  we 
strive  to  engraft  this  epistle  and  the  one  i.o  the  Philippians  upon 
a  continued  narrative  of  Paul's  life,  the  thing  does  not  entirely 
succeed,  as  with  the  great  and  indubitably  authentic  epistles 
anterior  to  the  captivity  of  Paul.  With  the  latter,  the  opera- 
tion, so  to  speak,  performs  itself;  the  facts  and  the  texts  fit  one 
into  the  other  without  effort,  and  seem  to  call  each  other. 
With  the  epistles  of  the  captivity,  on  the  contrary,  more  than 
one  laborious  combination  is  needed,  more  than  one  unwilling- 
ness is  to  be  silenced  ; 10  the  comings  and  goings  of  the  disciples 
are  not  in  harmony  at  the  first;  many  circumstances  of 
time  and  place  present  themselves,  if  we  may  be  allowed  the 
expression,  the  wrong  way. 

Nothing  in  all  this,  however,  is  decisive.  If  the  epistle  to  the 
Colossians  is  the  work  of  Paul  (as  we  believe  it  to  be),  it  was 
written  in  the  latter  part  of  the  apostle's  life,  at  a  period  in 
which  his  biography  is  very  obscure.  Later,  we  shall  demon- 
strate it  to  be  very  admissible  that  the  theology  of  St.  Paul, 
which,  from  the  epistles  to  the  Thessalonians  to  the  epistle  to 
the  Romans,  was  so  materially  developed,  should  also  undergo 
further  development  in  the  interval  from  the  epistle  to  the 


SAINT  2'AUL.  ivj 

Romans  to  his  death.  We  shall  even  demonstrate  that  the  most 
energetic  expressions  in  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians  are  but 
slight  embellishments  upon  those  of  anterior  epistles.11  St. 
Paul  was  one  of  those  men,  who,  from  their  cast  of  mind,  are 
inclined  to  pass  from  one  order  of  ideas  to  another,  although 
their  style  and  manner  of  thinking  present  the  most  definite 
characteristics.  The  tinge  of  gnosticism  found  in  the  epistle  to 
the  Colossians  is  met  with,  although  less  characterized,  in  the 
other  writings  of  the  New  Testament,  especially  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse and  epistle  to  the  Hebrews.12  Instead  of  rejecting  the 
authenticity  of  the  passages  in  the  New  Testament  in  which 
traces  of  gnosticism  are  met  with,  we  must  sometimes  reason 
inversely,  and  search  these  passages  for  the  origin  of  the  gnostic 
ideas  which  prevailed  in  the  second  century.  We  might  say,  in 
one  sense,  that  these  ideas  were  anterior  to  Christianity,  and  that 
primitive  Christianity  made  more  than  one  loan  from  them.  In 
short,  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians,  although  full  of  singularities, 
does  not  contain  any  of  those  impossibilities  presented  by  the 
epistles  to  Titus  and  Timothy :  it  even  possesses  many  char- 
acteristics which  repel  the  hypothesis  of  a  fabrication.  Of 
this  number,  we  may  mention  its  connection  with  the  note  to 
Philemon.  If  the  epistle  be  apocryphal,  the  note  is  also  apoc- 
ryphal ;  for  few  pages  have  a  tone  of  such  decided  sincerity ; 
Paul  alone,  as  far  as  it  appears,  was  able  to  write  this  little 
masterpiece.  The  apocryphal  epistles  of  the  New  Testament, 
—  for  example,  those  to  Timothy  and  Titus,  —  are  awkward 
and  heavy;  the  epistle  to  Philemon  in  no  wise  resembles 
these  tedious  pasticcios. 

In  conclusion,  we  shall  ere  long  discover  that  the  so-called 
epistle  to  the  Ephesians  is  in  part  copied  from  the  epistle  to 
the  Colossians,  —  a  fact  that  seems  to  argue  that  the  editor  of 
the  so-called  epistle  to  the  Ephesians  must  have  regarded  the 
epistle  to  the  Colossians  as  an  apostolic  original.  Let  us  also 
remark  that  Marcion,  who  was  generally  so  well  inspired  in  all 
matters  of  criticism  relating  to  the  writings  of  Paul,  and  who 


14  SAINT  PAUL. 

so  justly  rejected  the  epistles  to  Titus  and  Timothy,  admitted 
into  his  collection  the  two  epistles  of  which  we  have  just  been 
speaking.13 

Infinitely  stronger  are  the  objections  that  can  be  raised 
against  the  so-called  epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  And  first,  let  us 
observe  that  this  designation  is  no  less  than  certain.  The 
epistle  possesses  absolutely  no  stamp  of  circumstantiality ;  it  is 
addressed  to  no  one  in  particular ;  those  for  whom  it  is  destined 
occupy  less  place  in  Paul's  thoughts  than  his  other  corre- 
spondents of  the  time  being.14  Can  we  admit  that  St.  Paul 
would  have  written  to  a  Church  with  which  he  had  had  such 
intimate  connections  without  saluting  any  one,  — without  ex- 
pressing to  the  faithful  the  salutations  of  the  brethren  of  his 
acquaintance,  Timothy  in  particular, — without  giving  any  advice 
to  his  disciples,  —  without  speaking  to  them  of  former  relations, 
—  without  embodying  in  the  writing  any  of  those  particular 
characteristics  which  give  the  impress  of  authenticity  to  the 
other  epistles  ? 15  The  writing  is  addressed  to  converted  heathen. 
Now,  the  Church  of  Ephesus  was  to  a  great  extent  Jewish- 
Christian.  When  we  reflect  with  what  eagerness  Paul,  in  all 
his  epistles,  both  profits  by  and  gives  rise  to  pretexts  under 
which  to  speak  of  his  ministry  and  preaching,  we  experience  a 
lively  surprise  at  seeing  him,  in  the  whole  course  of  a  letteF 
addressed  to  these  same  Ephesians,  "whom  for  three  years  he 
did  not  cease  to  exhort  day  and  night  with  tears,"  lose  all  the 
opportunities  afforded  him  to  recall  to  them  his  sojourn  among 
them,  —  at  seeing  him,  I  say,  persist  in  giving  himself  entirely  tip 
to  abstract  philosophy,  or,  what  is  stranger  still,  to  pointless 
formulas,  suitable  for  the  first  church  they  reached.16  How 
different  he  is  in  the  epistles  to  the  Corinthians,  to  the  Galatians, 
to  the  Philippians,  to  the  Thessalonians,  and  even  in  the  epistle 
to  those  Colossians  whom  the  apostle,  however,  only  knew 
indirectly !  The  epistle  to  the  Romans  is  the  only  one  which 
in  this  respect  slightly  resembles  the  one  in  question.  Like  it, 
the  epistle  to  the  Romans  is  a  complete,  doctrinal  expose;  while, 


SAINT  PAUL.  15 

in  the  epistles  addressed  to  readers  who  have  received  the 
r.ospel  from  him,  Paul  always  infers  that  the  rudiments  of  his 
instruction  are  known,  and  contents  himself  with  dwelling  upon 
some  point  which  possesses  appropriateness.  How  does  it 
happen,  that,  of  the  only  two  impersonal  letters  of  Paul,  one 
should  be  an  epistle  addressed  to  a  church  which  he  had  never 
seen,17  and  the  other  an  epistle  addressed  to  a  church  with 
which  he  had  had  the  longest  and  most  uninterrupted  connection  ? 
.  The  perusal  of  the  so-called  epistle  to  the  Ephesians  will 
therefore  be  sufficient  to  lead  us  to  suspect  that  the  writing  in 
question  was  not  addressed  to  the  Church  of  Ephesus.  The 
testimony  of  the  manuscripts  transforms  these  suspicions  into 
certainty.  The  words  ev  Ecpeffca,  in  the  first  verse,  were 
introduced  towards  the  end  of  the  fourth  century.  The  manu- 
script of  the  Vatican  and  the  Codex  Sinaiticus,  both  of  the 
fourth  century,  and  the  authority  of  which,  at  least  when  they 
accord,  prevails  over  that  of  all  the  other  manuscripts  together, 
do  not  contain  these  wodrs.  A  manuscript  of  Vienna,  —  the  one 
designated  in  the  collections  of  Paul's  epistles  by  the  figure  67, 
—  of  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  century,  has  them  erased.  St.  Basil 
gives  us  the  testimony  that  the  ancient  manuscripts  examined 
by  him  did  not  have  these  words.18  Finally,  the  evidence  of 
the  third  century  proves  that  at  that  period  the  existence  of  the 
said  words  in  the  first  verse  was  not  known.19  If,  at  that  time, 
everybody  believed  that  the  epistle  in  question  had  been 
addressed  to  the  Ephesians,20  it  was  by  virtue  of  its  title,  and 
not  by  virtue  of  the  superscription.  A  man  who,  in  spite  of  the 
dogmatic  cb  priori  spirit  frequently  manifested  by  him  in  correct- 
ing the  holy  works,  often  had  gleams  of  true  criticism,  namely, 
Marcion  (towards  150),  desired  that  the  so-called  epistle  to 
the  Ephesians  should  be  the  epistle  to  the  Laodiceans,  of 
whom  St.  Paul  speaks  in  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians.21  '  What 
appears  most  true,  is,  that  the  so-called  epistle  to  the  Ephesians 
was  addressed  to  no  particular  church,  and  that,  if  it  be  from  St. 
Paul,  it  is  simply  a  circular  letter  destined  for  the  churches  of 


1 6  SAINT  PAUL. 

Asia,  composed  of  converted  heathen.  The  superscription  of 
these  letters,  transcribed  in  several  copies,  might  offer  after  the 
words  roi?  ovffiv,  a  blank  destined  to  receive  the  name  of  the 
church  intended.  Perhaps  the  Church  of  Ephesus  possessed  one 
of  these  copies,  of  which  the  editor  of  Paul's  letters  may  have 
made  use.  The  fact  of  finding  such  a  copy  at  Ephesus  would 
have  induced  him  to  write  at  the  head  IIpoS  'EcpeffwvS.™ 
As  they  neglected,  in  the  start,  to  leave  a  blank  after  ovffiv, 
the  superscription  became:  roiZ  ayioiS  roi$  ovffiv  x<*l 
TtiffroiZ,  not  a  very  satisfactory  lesson,23  and  one  which  they 
may  have  thought  to  rectify  in  the  fourth  century  by  inserting 
after  ovffiv,  conformably  to  the  title,  the  words  er  Ecpeffcp. 

This  doubt  concerning  those  for  whom  was  destined  the 
so-called  epistle  to  the  Ephesians  might  accord  very  well  with 
its  authenticity;  but  on  this  second  point,  critical  reflection 
gives  rise  to  new  suspicions.  One  fact  which  attracts  attention 
at  the  very  start  is  the  resemblances  which  we  remark  between 
the  so-called  epistle  to  the  Ephesians  and  the  epistle  to  the 
Colossians.  The  two  epistles  are  identical  in  outline ;  members 
of  sentences  have  passed  unchanged  from  one  to  the  other. 
Which  is  the  epistle  that  served  as  the  original,  and  which  are 
we  to  consider  an  imitation  ? 

It  certainly  appears  that  it  is  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians 
which  serves  as  the  original,  and  that  it  is  the  so-called  epistle 
to  the  Ephesians  which  is  the  imitation.  This  second  epistle  is 
more  developed  ; 24  its  formulas  are  exaggerated ;  everything  that 
distinguishes  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians  among  the  epistles  of 
St.  Paul  is  still  more  strongly  marked  in  the  so-called  epistle 
to  the  Ephesians.  The  epistle  to  the  Colossians  is  full  of 
particular  details  ;  it  has  an  introductory  which  corresponds  well 
to  the  historical  circumstances  under  which  it  must  have  been 
written.  The  epistle  to  the  Ephesians  is  entirely  vague.  We 
understand  how  a  general  catechism  might  be  taken  from  a 
particular  letter,  but  not  how  a  particular  letter  could  be  taken 
from  a  general  catechism.  Finally,  the  twenty-first  verse  of  the 


SAINT  PAUL.  17 

sixth  chapter  of  the  so-called  epistle  to  the  Ephesians  takes  it 
for  granted  that  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians  was  the  first 
written.25  As  soon  as  we  admit  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians  to 
be  a  work  of  Paul's,  the  question  puts  itself  as  follows  :  How 
could  Paul  pass  his  time  in  disfiguring  one  of  his  works,  in 
repeating  himself,  in  making  a  common  letter  out  of  a  topical 
and  particular  one  ? 

This  is  not  exactly  impossible  ;  but  it  is  quite  improbable. 
The  improbability  of  such  an  idea  would  be  diminished  by 
supposing  that  Paul  entrusted  the  work  to  one  of  his  disciples. 
Perhaps  Timothy,  for  example,  may  have  taken  the  epistle  to 
the  Colossians,  in  order  to  enlarge  it,  and  thus  render  it  general 
and  susceptible  of  being  addressed  to  all  the  churches  of  Asia. 
It  is  difficult  to  pronounce  an  opinion  upon  the  matter  with 
confidence ;  for  the  supposition  remains  that  the  epistle  was 
composed  after  the  death  of  Paul,  at  a  period  in  which  they 
were  engaged  in  searching  for  the  apostolic  writings,  and  in 
which,  when  taking  into  consideration  the  small  number  of 
these  writings,  they  did  not  scruple  to  fabricate  new  ones  by 
imitating,  mingling  together,  copying,  and  diluting  the  writings 
deemed  apostolic  at  that  time.  Thus,  the  so-called  second 
epistle  of  Peter  was  made  up  of  the  /  Petri  and  the  epistle  of 
Jude.  It  is  possible  that  the  so-called  epistle  to  the  Ephesians 
owes  its  origin  to  the  same  proceeding.26  The  objections  raised 
against  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians,  in  relation  to  language  and 
doctrines,  apply  with  greater  force  to  the  former.  The  epistle 
to  the  Ephesians,  in  regard  to  style,  differs  sensibly  from  certain 
epistles :  it  contains  favorite  expressions,  meanings  peculiar  to 
it  alone,  words  foreign  to  the  ordinary  language  of  St.  Paul, 
some  of  which  are  met  with  again  in  the  epistles  to  Timothy, 
Titus,  and  the  Hebrews.27  The  sentences  are  diffuse,  lacking  in 
vigor,  laden  with  useless  words  and  repetitions,  entangled  with 
adventitious  incidents,  and  full  of  pleonasms  and  incumbrances.28 
Same  difference  at  the  basis  of  the  ideas.  In  the  so-called  epistle 
to  the  Ephesians,  gnosticism  is  entirely  apparent.29  The  idea  of 
2* 


1 8  SAINT  PAUL. 

the  church,  conceived  as  a  living  organism,30  is  here  developed 
in  a  manner  which  carries  the  mind  back  to  the  years  75  or  80; 
the  exegesis  no  longer  conforms  to  the  customary  ways  of 
Paul ; 31  the  manner  in  which  the  "  holy  apostles  " 32  are  spoken  of 
is  surprising ;  the  theory  of  marriage  is  different  from  that  which 
Paul  sets  forth  to  the  Corinthians.33 

It  must  be  confessed,  on  the  other  hand,  that  one  cannot 
well  imagine  the  design  and  interest  which  the  fabricator  would 
have  had  in  composing  this  piece,  since  it  adds  very  little  to  the 
epistle  to  the  Colossians.  It  appears,  moreover,  that  a  fabricator 
would  have  indited  a  letter,  properly  addressed  and  circumstan- 
tiated, as  is  the  case  with  the  epistles  to  Timothy  and  Titus. 
That  Paul  wrote  or  dictated  this  letter  is  almost  impossible 
to  admit;  but  that  it  was  composed  while  he  was  yet  alive, 
under  his  eyes,  in  his  name,  is  not  to  be  declared  improbable. 
Paul,  a  prisoner  at  Rome,  might  commission  Tychicus  to  go  and 
visit  the  churches  of  Asia,34  giving  him  several  letters,  the  epistle 
to  the  Colossians,  the  note  to  Philemon,  and  the  epistle,  now 
lost,  to  the  Laodiceans.35  He  might  also  give  him  copies  of  a 
sort  of  circular  letter,  with  the  name  of  the  church  left  blank, 
which  letter  would  be  the  so-called  epistle  to  the  Ephesians.36 
In  going  to  Ephesus,  Tychicus  might  show  this  unsealed  letter 
to  the  Ephesians,  and  we  may  suppose  that  the  latter  took  one 
copy  of  it  or  transcribed  its  contents.  The  resemblance  of 
this  general  epistle  to  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians  might  have 
resulted  either  from  the  fact  of  one  man's  writing  several  letters 
in  an  interval  of  a  few  days,  and  through  preoccupation  with  a 
certain  number  of  fixed  ideas,  unconsciously  falling  into  the 
same  expressions;  or  from  the  circumstance  of  Paul's  directing 
Timothy37  or  Tychicus  to  compose  the  circular  letter  after  the 
model  of  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians,  but  with  the  rejection  of 
everything  of  a  topical  nature.38  The  passage  (Colossians  iv.  16) 
shows  that  Paul  sometimes  had  his  letters  carried  from  one 
church  to  another.  We  shall  soon  remark  that  a  like  hypothesis 
must  be  made  in  order  to  explain  certain  particularities  in  the 


SAINT  PAUL.  19 

epistle  to  the  Romans.  It  appears  that  in  the  last  years  of  his 
life,  Paul  adopted  encyclical  letters,  as  a  form  of  writing  very 
appropriate  to  the  vast  pastoral  ministry  which  he  had  to  fill. 
In  writing  to  one  church,  the  thought  struck  him  that  the  things 
he  was  dictating  would  be  suitable  for  other  churches,  and  he  took 
such  measures  as  not  to  deprive  them  of  them.  We  are  thus  led 
to  regard  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians  and  the  so-called  epistle 
to  the  Ephesians,  in  their  ensemble,  as  a  pendant  to  the  epistle  to 
the  Romans ;  as  a  sort  of  theological  exposition,  intended  to  be 
transmitted  in  the  shape  of  a  circular  to  the  different  churches 
established  by  the  apostle.  The  epistle  to  the  Ephesians  had 
not  that  degree  of  authenticity  possessed  by  the  epistle  to  the 
Colossians ;  but  it  had  a  more  general  turn,  and  received  the 
preference.  At  a  very  early  period,  it  was  considered  a  work 
of  Paul's,  and  a  writing  of  high  authority.  This  is  proved  by 
the  usage  made  of  it  in  the  first  epistle  attributed  to  Peter,39 
a  little  work,  not  impossibly  authentic,  and  which,  at  any  rate, 
dates  from  the  apostolic  age.  Among  the  letters  bearing  the 
name  of  Paul,  the  epistle  to  the  Ephesians  is  perhaps  the  one 
which  was  most  anciently  quoted  as  a  composition  of  the  apostle 
of  the  Gentiles.40  There  remain  the  two  epistles  to  Timothy 
and  the  epistle  to  Titus.  The  authenticity  of  these  three 
epistles  meets  with  insurmountable  difficulties.  I  regard  them 
as  apocryphal  compositions.  To  prove  it,  I  could  show  that 
the  language  of  these  three  writings  is  not  Paul's.  I  could 
produce  a  series  of  terms  and  expressions,  either  exclusively 
peculiar  or  particularly  dear  to  the  author,41  and  which,  being 
characteristic,  should  occur  in  due  proportion  in  the  other 
epistles  of  Paul,  but  which  fail  to  do  so,  at  least  in  the  desired 
ratio.  Other  expressions,  which  constitute  to  a  certain  degree 
the  signature  of  Paul,  are  wanting.  Above  all,  I  could  show 
that  these  epistles  contain  a  large  number  of  incongruities, 
either  in  regard  to  the  supposed  author,  or  in  regard  to  the 
supposed  intended  recipients.42  The  usual  characteristic  of 
letters  fabricated  with  a  doctrinal  intention,  is,  that  the  fabricator 


20  SAINT  PAUL. 

sees  the  public  over  the  head  of  the  pretended  recipient  that  is  to 
be,  and  writes  to  the  latter  things  well  known  to  him  but  which 
the  fabricator  is  anxious  to  have  impressed  upon  the  public. 
The  three  epistles  which  we  are  discussing  possess  this  char- 
acter in  a  high  degree.43  Paul,  whose  authentic  letters  are  so  par- 
ticular, so  precise,  —  Paul,  who,  believing  in  an  early  destruction 
of  the  world,  never  supposes  that  he  will  be  read  in  after  ages, — 
Paul  would  here  become  a  general  preacher,  so  little  occupied 
with  his  correspondent  as  to  write  him  sermons  not  applicable 
to  him,  and  to  send  him  a  petty  code  of  ecclesiastical  discipline 
in  consideration  of  the  future.44  But  these  arguments,  decisive 
of  themselves,  are  not  necessary.  To  prove  my  position,  I 
shall  only  make  use  of  arguments  to  some  extent  material ;  I 
shall  undertake  to  demonstrate  that  there  are  no  means  of 
including  these  epistles  within  the  known  outline,  or  every 
possible  outline,  of  the  life  of  St.  Paul. 

There  is  one  very  important  preliminary  observation,  namely, 
the  perfect  similitude  of  these  three  epistles  to  each  other,  —  a 
similitude  which  obliges  us  to  admit  the  whole  three  as  authentic, 
or  to  reject  the  whole  three  as  apocryphal.  The  particular 
characteristics  which  separate  them  so  widely  from  the  other 
epistles  of  St.  Paul  are  the  same.  The  expressions  foreign  to 
the  language  of  St.  Paul,  which  are  met  with,  occur  equally  in 
the  whole  three.  The  defects  which  render  the  style  unworthy 
of  Paul  are  identical.  It  is  something  rather  strange  that  every 
time  St.  Paul  takes  his  pen  to  write  to  his  disciples  he  should 
forget  his  customary  manner,  and  fall  into  the  same  heaviness, 
the  same  idioms.  The  basis  of  the  ideas  gives  rise  to  the  same 
observation.  The  three  epistles  are  rilled  with  vague  counsels, 
and  moral  exhortations,  of  which  Timothy  and  Titus,  familiar- 
ized by  every-day  intercourse  with  the  ideas  of  the  apostle, 
stood  in  no  need.  The  errors  here  combated  are  always  a 
species  of  gnosticism.45  The  preoccupation  of  the  author  in  the 
three  epistles  never  varies.  We  are  conscious  of  the  jealous  and 
anxious  guard  over  an  orthodoxy  already  formed,  —  over  a 


SAINT  PAUL.  21 

hierarchy  already  developed.  The  three  writings  repeat  them- 
selves mutually  at  times,46  and  copy  the  other  epistles  of  Paul.47 
One  thing  is  certain,  and  that  is,  if  these  three  epistles  were 
written  under  the  dictation  of  Paul,  they  date  from  the  same 
period  of  his  life,48  a  period  separated  by  long  years  from  the 
time  when  he  composed  the  other  epistles.  Every  hypothesis 
which  would  strive  to  introduce  between  the  three  epistles  in 
question  an  interval  of  three  or  four  years  for  instance,  or  which 
would  locate  between  them  any  one  of  the  other  epistles  known 
to  us,  should  be  rejected.  In  order  to  explain  the  similitude  of 
the  three  epistles  to  each  other,  and  their  unlikeness  to  the 
others,  there  is  but  one  hypothesis  possible ;  and  that  is,  to 
suppose  that  they  were  written  in  rather  a  short  space  of  time 
and  a  long  while  after  the  others,  at  a  period  in  which  all  the 
circumstances  that  surrounded  the  apostle  had  changed,  in 
which  he  had  grown  old,  and  his  ideas  and  style  become  modified. 
Of  course,  should  we  succeed  in  establishing  the  possibility  of 
such  a  hypothesis,  this  would  not  bring  about  the  solution  of  the 
question.  The  style  of  a  man  may  change ;  but  not  from  the 
most  striking  and  inimitable  style  that  ever  existed  to  a  prolix 
and  weak  one.49  However,  'such  a  hypothesis  is  formally 
excluded  by  our  more  certain  knowledge  of  the  life  of  Paul.  We 
are  going  to  prove  it. 

The  first  epistle  to  Timothy  is  the  one  which  presents  the 
fewest  particular  characteristics ;  and,  nevertheless,  were  it  the 
only  one,  we  could  not  find  a  place  for  it  in  the  life  of  St.  Paul. 
Paul,  when  he  is  reputed  to  have  written  this  epistle,  had  left 
Timothy  a  short  time  before,  as  he  had  not  written  to  him  since 
his  departure  (i,  3).  The  apostle  left  Timothy  at  Ephesus. 
Paul,  at  this  moment,  was  setting  out  for  Macedonia.  Not  having 
the  time  to  combat  the  errors  which  were  commencing  in 
Ephesus,  the  leaders  in  which  were  Hymeneus  and  Alexander 
(i,  20),  Paul  left  Timothy  to  war  against  these  errors.  The 
journey  that  Paul  makes  will  be  of  short  duration ;  he  intends 
to  return  soon  to  Ephesus  (iii.  14,  15  ;  iv.  13). 


22  SAINT  PAUL. 

Two  hypotheses  have  been  proposed  to  cause  this  epistle  to 
enter  into  the  contexture  of  Paul's,  life  such  as  it  is  given  by  the 
Acts,  and  confirmed  by  the  unquestioned  epistles.  According 
to  some,  the  journey  from  Ephesus  to  Macedonia,  which 
separated  Paul  from  Timothy,  is  the  one  recounted  in  the  Acts 
(xx.  i).  This  journey  took  place  in  the  third  mission.  Paul 
remained  three  years  at  Ephesus.  He  sets  out  to  revisit  his 
churches  in  Macedonia,  then  those  of  Achaia.  It  is,  they 
assert,  from  Macedonia  or  from  Achaia  that  he  writes  to  the 
disciple  whom  he  left  at  Ephesus  with  full  powers.  This 
hypothesis  is  inadmissible.  First  of  all,  the  Acts  tell  us  (xix. 
22)  that  Timothy  had  preceded  his  master  into  Macedonia, 
where,  in  reality,  St.  Paul  rejoins  him  (2  Corinthians,  i.  i).  And 
then,  is  it  likely  that  almost  the  day  after  his  departure  from 
Ephesus,  Paul  would  have  given  his  disciple  the  charges  which 
we  read  in  the  first  to  Timothy?  He  himself  might  have 
combated  the  errors  which  he  particularizes.  The  cast  of  the 
verse  (i  Timothy,  i.  3)  in  no  wise  becomes  a  man  who  left  Ephe- 
sus after  a  long  stay.  Besides,  Paul  announces  his  intention  of 
returning  to  Ephesus  (iii.  14 ;  iv.  13).  Now  Paul,  in  leaving  Ephe- 
sus, had  the  definite  intention  of  going  to  Jerusalem  without 
returning  to  Ephesus  (Acts  xix.  21 ;  xx.  i,  3,  16 ;  i  Corinthians 
xvi.  4;  2  Corinthians  i.  i6).50  Let  us  add  that  if  we  consider  the 
epistle  written  at  this  time,  everything  is  awkward  in  it.  The  fault 
of  the  apocryphal  letters,  —  which  is,  to  state  nothing  precise,  the 
author  relating  to  his  fictitious  correspondent  things  with  which 
the  latter  is  acquainted,  —  this  fault,  I  say,  is  here  carried  to  a 
disgusting  length. 

To  avoid  this  difficulty,  and,  above  all,  to  explain  the  inten- 
tion announced  by  Paul  of  returning  to  Ephesus,  another  plan 
is  resorted  to.  It  is  urged  that  the  journey  to  Macedonia, 
mentioned  in  the  verse  (i  Timothy  i.  3)  is  a  journey  not  related 
by  the  Acts,  which  Paul  must  have  made  during  his  three  years' 
stay  at  Ephesus.  Assuredly  we  are  allowed  to  suppose  that 
Paul  was  not  sedentary  all  this  time.  It  is,  therefore,  advanced 


SAINT  PAUL.  23 

that  he  made  a  visit  to  the  Archipelago,  and  thus  they 
succeed  in  creating  a  link  to  join  the  epistle  to  Titus,  in  a 
manner  more  or  less  plausible,  to  the  life  of  Paul.  We  do  not 
deny  the  possibility  of  such  a  journey,  although  the  silence  of 
the  Acts  is  certainly  a  difficulty;  but  we  do  deny  that  the 
trouble  caused  by  the  first  epistle  to  Timothy  is  not  thus  gotten 
rid  of.  In  this  hypothesis,  we  understand  still  less  than  in  the 
first  the  text  of  the  verse,  i.  3.  Why  tell  Timothy  what  he 
knows  very  well  ?  Paul  has  just  passed  one  or  two  years  at 
Ephesus ;  he  will  soon  return  there.  What  is  the  meaning  of 
these  errors,  which  he  discovers  at  the  very  moment  of  his  de- 
parture, and  on  account  of  which  he  leaves  Timothy  at  Ephe- 
sus? In  the  said  hypothesis,  moreover,  the  first  to  Timothy 
must  have  been  written  about  the  same  time  as  the  great  and 
authentic  epistles  of  Paul.  What!  Paul  write  such  a  weak 
amplification  the  day  after  the  epistle  to  the  Galatians,  and  on 
the  eve  of  the  epistles  to  the  Corinthians  ?  He  abandon  his  cus- 
tomary style,  in  leaving  Ephesus,  and  regain  it  upon  his  return, 
in  order  to  write  the  letters  to  the  Corinthians,  with  the  excep- 
tion, a  few  years  later,  of  resuming  the  style  of  the  pretended 
journey,  in  order  to  write  to  the  same  Timothy?  The  second 
to  Timothy,  in  the  opinion  of  every  one,  could  not  have  been 
written  before  the  arrival  of  the  captive  Paul  in  Rome.  Hence, 
there  must  have  elapsed  several  years  between  the  first  to 
Timothy  and  the  one  to  Titus,  on  the  one  side,  and  the  second 
to  Timothy  on  the  other  side.  That  cannot  be.  The  three 
writings  are  copies  of  each  other.  How,  then,  can  we  suppose 
an  interval  of  five  or  six  years?  Would  Paul,  writing  to  a 
friend,  borrow  from  old  letters  ?  Is  that  a  proceeding  worthy 
of  this  master  of  epistolary  art,  so  ardent,  so  rich  in  ideas? 
The  second  hypothesis,  therefore,  like  the  first,  is  a  tissue  of 
improbabilities.  The  verse  (i  Timothy  i.  3)  is  a  circle  from 
which  the  apologist  cannot  make  his  exit.  This  verse  creates 
an  impossibility  in  the  biography  of  St.  Paul.  It  would  be 
necessary  to  find  an  episode  in  which  Paul,  on  his  way  to 


24  SAINT  PAUL. 

Macedonia,  did  no  more  than  stop  at  Ephesus.  This  episode 
does  not  exist  in  the  life  of  St.  Paul  before  his  captivity.  Let 
us  add,  that  when  Paul  is  thought  to  have  written  the  epistle  in 
question,  the  church  of  Ephesus  possessed  a  complete  organi- 
zation,— elders,  deacons,  and  deaconesses.51  This  church  even 
offers  the  usual  phenomena  of  an  old  community,  schisms  and 
errors.52  Nothing  of  this  kind  agrees  with  the  times  of  the  third 
mission.53  If  the  first  to  Timothy  is  from  Paul,  we. must  attribute 
it  to  a  hypothetical  period  of  his  life,  subsequent  to  his  captivity, 
and  not  comprised  within  the  Acts.  This  hypothesis  being  the 
one  towards  which  we  are  led  by  the  examination  of  the  two 
other  epistles  of  which  we  have  to  speak,  we  postpone  this 
examination  to  a  later  period. 

The  second  epistle  to  Timothy  presents  many  more  facts 
than  the  first.  The  apostle  is  in  prison,  evidently  in  Rome 
(i.  8,  12,  16,  17;  ii.  9,  10).  Timothy  is  at  Ephesus  (i.  16,  18; 
ii.  17;  iv.  14,  15,  19),  where  evil  doctrines  continue  to  multiply 
through  the  fault  of  Hymeneus  and  Philetus  (ii.  1 7).  Paul  has 
not  been  long  imprisoned  in  Rome,  for  he  gives  Timothy,  as 
news,  certain  details  of  a  circuit  of  the  Archipelago  that  he  has 
just  made.  At  Miletum,  he  left  Trophimus  sick  (iv.  20) ;  at 
Troas,  he  left  certain  things  with  Carpus  (iv.  13);  Erastus  re- 
mained at  Corinth  (iv.  20).  At  Rome,  those  of  Asia,  among 
others  Phygellus  and  Hermogenes,  abandoned  him  (i.  15). 
Another  Ephesian,  on  the  contrary,  Onesiphorus,  one  of  his  old 
friends,  having  gone  to  Rome,  searched  for  him,  found  him,  arid 
took  care  of  him  in  his  captivity  (i.  16,  18).  The  apostle  has  a 
strong  presentiment  of  his  approaching  end  (iv.  6,  8).  His 
disciples  are  far  from  him.  Demas  has  forsaken  him  to  attend 
to  worldly  interests ;  he  has  set  out  for  Thessalonica  (iv.  10). 
Crecent  has  gone  to  Galatia  (ibid.) ;  Titus  to  Dalmatia  (ibid.) ; 
Paul  has  sent  Tychicus  to  Ephesus  (iv.  12) ;  only  Luke  is  with 
him  (iv.  ii).  A  certain  Alexander,  a  coppersmith,  of  Ephesus, 
did  him  a  great  deal  of  evil,  and  opposed  him  strongly.  This 
Alexander  afterwards  returned  to  Ephesus  (iv.  14,  15).  Paul 


SAINT  PAUL.  25 

has  already  appeared  before  the  Roman  authorities.  At  this 
hearing,  no  one  was  present  (iv.  16) ;  but  the  Lord  aided  him, 
and  delivered  him  out  of  the  lion's  mouth  (iv.  17).  Therefore 
he  prays  Timothy  to  come  before  winter  (iv.  9,  21);  and  to 
bring  Mark  with  him  (iv.  1 1 ).  He  gives  him  a  commission  at  * 
the  same  time,  namely,  to  bring  him  the  book-box,  the  books,  and 
the  parchments  which  he  left  with  Carpus,  at  Troas  (iv.  13). 
He  directs  him  to  salute  Prisca,  Aquila,  and  the  household  of 
Onesiphorus  (iv.  19).  He  sends  him  greetings  from  Eubulus, 
Pudens,  Linus,  Claudia,  and  from  all  the  brethren  (iv.  21). 

This  simple  analysis  suffices  to  reveal  strange  incoherencies. 
The  apostle  is  in  Rome  ;  he  has  just  made  a  tour  of  the  Archi- 
pelago ;  he  gives  Timothy  the  news  of  it,  as  if  he  had  not  written 
to  him  since  this  journey.  In  the  same  letter,  he  speaks  to  him 
of  his  prison  and  his  trial.  Will  you  assert  that  this  tour  of  the 
Archipelago  is  the  journey  of  the  captive  Paul,  recounted  in 
Acts?  But  on  that  journey,  Paul  does  not  cross  the  Archi- 
pelago ;  he  could  neither  go  to  Miletum  nor  to  Troas,  nor  above 
all  to  Corinth,  since  off  Cnidus  the  tempest  drove  the  vessel  on 
Crete,  and  aftenvard  on  Malta.  Will  it  be  said  that  the  journey 
in  question  is  the  last  journey  of  St.  Paul  as  a  free  man,  —  his 
journey  back  to  Jerusalem  in  company  with  the  deputies?  But 
Timothy  was  on  this  journey  at  least  from  Macedonia  (Acts 
xx.  4).  More  than  two  years  elapsed  between  this  journey  and 
the  arrival  of  Paul  at  Rome  (Acts  xxiv.  27).  Can  it  be  con- 
ceived that  Paul  would  relate  to  Timothy,  as  news,  things  which 
had  happened  in  his  presence  so  long  ago,  when  in  the  mean  time 
they  had  lived  together  and  had  just  separated  ? 54  Far  from 
remaining  sick  at  Miletum,  Trophimus  followed  the  apostle  to 
Jerusalem,  and  was  the  cause  of  his  arrest  (Acts  xxi.  29).  The 
passage  (2  Timothy  iv.  10,  n)  compared  to  Colossians  iv.  10,  14, 
and  to  Philemon  24,  forms  a  contradiction  no  less  grave. 
If  Demas  had  left  Paul  when  the  latter  wrote  the  second  to 
Timothy,  this  epistle  is  subsequent  to  the  epistle  to  the  Colos- 
sians and  to  the  epistle  to  Philemon.  In  writing  these  two 
3 


26  SAINT  PAUL. 

last  epistles,  Paul  has  Mark  with  him.  How  then,  in  writing  the 
second  to  Timothy,  can  he  say,  "Take  Mark,  and  bring  him 
with  thee,  for  he  is  profitable  to  me  for  the  ministry"  ?  On  the 
other  hand,  as  we  have  proved,  it  is  not  permitted  to  separate 
the  three  letters.  Now,  in  whatever  way  the  matter  be  arranged, 
there  will  always  remain  three  years  at  least  between  the  first 
and  the  second  to  Timothy,  and  we  must  place  between  them 
the  second  to  the  Corinthians  and  the  epistle  to  the  Romans. 
An  only  refuge  remains,  therefore,  as  with  the  first  to  Timothy; 
and  that  is,  to  suppose  that  the  second  to  Timothy  was  written 
in  a  sequel  to  the  life  of  the  apostle,  of  which  the  Acts  would 
make  no  mention.  Were  this  hypothesis  proved  possible,  yet  a 
crowd  of  difficulties,  inherent  in  the  epistle,  would  still  remain. 
Timothy  would  be  at  Ephesus,  and  (iv.  12)  Paul  would  simply 
say,  "  I  have  sent  Tychicus  to  Ephesus,"  as  if  Ephesus  was  not 
the  home  of  the  intended  recipient.  What  could  be  more 
emotionless  than  the  passage  2  Timothy  iii.  10,  n — yes,  even 
more  inexact?  Paul  did  not  join  himself  to  Timothy  until  the 
second  mission.  Now,  the  persecutions  that  Paul  underwent  at 
Antioch  of  Pisidia,  at  Iconium,  at  Lystra,  took  place  in  the 
first.53  The  true  Paul,  in  writing  to  Timothy,  would  have  had 
many  other  mutual  trials  to  recall  to  him.  Let  us  add  that  he 
would  not  have  lost  his  time  in  recalling  them  to  him.  A 
thousand  improbabilities  arise  on  all  sides.  But  it  is  useless  to 
discuss  them ;  for  the  hypothesis  in  question,  and  according  to 
which  our  epistle  would  be  subsequent  to  the  examination  of 
Paul  before  the  council  of  Nero,  —  this  hypothesis,  I  say,  is  to  be 
discarded,  as  we  shall  prove  when  we  shall  have  introduced,  in 
its  turn,  the  epistle  to  Titus  into  the  debate. 

When  Paul  writes  the  epistle  to  Titus,  the  latter  is  in  the 
tide  of  Crete  (i.  5).  Paul,  who  had  just  visited  this  island,  and 
is  very  dissatisfied  with  the  inhabitants  (i.  12,  13),  had  left  his 
disciples  there  to  finish  the  establishment  of  the  churches  and 
to  go  from  city  to  city  and  ordain  presbyter  i  or  episcopi  (i.  5). 
He  promises  Titus  to  send  Artemas  and  Tychicus  to  him  soon. 


SAINT  PAUL.  27 

He  begs  his  disciple  to  come  as  soon  as  he  shall  have  received 
these  two  brethren,  and  rejoin  him  at  Nicopolis,  where  he  intends 
to  winter  (iii.  12).  The  apostle  then  charges  his  disciple  to 
conduct  Zenas  and  Apollos  on  their  journey  honorably,  and 
to  take  great  care  of  them  (iii.  13). 

Here  again,  difficulties  present  themselves  with  each  phrase. 
Not  a  word  for  the  faithful  Cretans  ;  nothing-  but  a  hurtful  and 
unbecoming  severity  (i.  12,  13);  new  declamations  against  errors, 
the  existence  of  which  in  churches  recently  established  cannot 
be  comprehended  (i.  10,  ct  seq.) ;  errors  which  Paul  absent  sees 
and  understands  better  than  Titus,  who  is  on  the  spot ;  details 
which  would  infer  that  Christianity  was  already  old  and  com- 
pletely developed  in  the  island  (i.  5,*6) ;  trivial  recommendations 
concerning  points  most  clear.  Such  an  epistle  would  have  been 
very  useless  to  Titus  ;  not  a  word  of  anything  which  he  did  not 
know  by  heart.  But  it  is  not  by  plausible  demonstrations,  but 
by  direct  arguments,  that  the  apocryphal  character  of  the  docu- 
ment in  question  can  be  shown. 

If  we  seek  to  attach  this  letter  to  that  period  of  Paul's  life 
comprehended  within  the  Acts,  we  experience  the  same  difficul- 
ties as  with  the  preceding  ones.  According  to  the  Acts,  Paul 
lands  in  Crete  but  once,  and  that  is  in  his  shipwreck.  He  only 
made  a  short  sojourn  there ;  during  this  sojourn,  he  was  a  captive. 
Assuredly,  it  was  not  at  this  moment  that  Paul  was  able  to 
begin  the  establishment  of  churches  in  the  island.  Besides,  if 
it  were  to  the  journey  of  Paul,  a  captive,  that  Titus  (i.  5) 
relates,  Paul,  when  writing,  would  be  a  prisoner  in  Rome.  How 
can  he  write  from  his  prison  in  Rome  that  he  has  the  intention 
of  going  to  pass  the  winter  at  Nicopolis  ?  Why  does  he  not, 
according  to  his  custom,  make  some  allusion  to  his  condition  as 
captive  ?  Another  hypothesis  has  been  attempted.  They  have 
undertaken  to  join  the  epistle  to  Titus  and  the  first  to  Timothy 
together.  It  has  been  supposed  that  these  two  epistles  were  the 
fruit  of  the  episodical  journey  that  St.  Paul  must  have  made 
during  his  stay  at  Ephesus.  Although  this  hypothesis  does  not 


28  SAINT  PAUL. 

go  far  towards  explaining  the  difficulties  of  the  first  to  Timothy, 
let  us  take  it  up  in  order,  to  see  if  the  epistle  to  Titus  gives  it 
any  support.  Paul  has  been  at  Ephesus  for  a  year  or  two. 
During  the  summer,  he  forms  the  project  of  an  apostolic  tour, 
of  which  the  Acts  have  made  no  mention.  He  leaves  Timothy 
at  Ephesus,  and  takes  with  him  Titus  and  the  two  Ephesians, 
Artemas  and  Tychicus.  He  goes  at  first  to  Macedonia,  then 
from  there  to  Crete,  where  he  establishes  a  few  churches.  He 
leaves  Titus  in  the  island,  charging  him  to  continue  his  work, 
and  goes  to  Corinth  with  Artemas  and  Tychicus.  There  he 
makes  the  acquaintance  of  Apollos,  whom  he  had  not  yet  seen, 
and  who  was  upon  the  point  of  setting  out  for  Ephesus.  He 
begs  Apollos  to  turn  aside  a  little  from  his  road,  in  order  to 
go  to  Crete  and  carry  Titus  the  epistle  which  has  been  handed 
down  to  us.  His  plan  is  now  to  go  to  Epirus,  and  pass  the 
winter  at  Nicopolis.  He  writes  this  plan  to  Titus,  tells  him 
that  he  will  send  Artemas  and  Tychicus  to  him  in  Crete,  and 
requests  him,  so  soon  as  he  shall  have  seen  them,  to  come  and 
rejoin  him  at  Nicopolis.  Paul  then  makes  his  journey  to 
Epirus.  He  writes  from  Epirus,  the  first  to  Timothy,  and  com- 
missions Artemas  and  Tychicus  to  carry  it.  He  enjoins  upon 
them,  nevertheless,  to  go  by  way  of  Crete,  in  order  at  the  same 
time  to  give  word  to  Titus  to  come  and  rejoin  him  at  Nicopolis. 
Titus  goes  to  Nicopolis ;  the  apostle  and  his  disciple  return 
together  to  Ephesus. 

With  this  hypothesis,  we  account  for,  in  an  indifferent  manner, 
the  circumstances  of  the  epistle  to  Titus,  and  of  the  first  to 
Timothy.  Even  more  :  we  obtain  two  apparent  advantages.  It 
seems  to  explain  the  passages  of  the  epistles  to  the  Corinthians, 
from  which,  at  first  glance,  it  would  appear  to  follow  that  Paul, 
going  to  Corinth  at  the  end  of  his  long  stay  at  Ephesus,  went 
there  for  the  third  time  (i  Corinthians,  xxi.  7;  2  Corinthians, 
ii.  i ;  xii.  14,  21 ;  xiii.  i).  It  is  also  thought  that  it  explains  the 
passage  in  which  St.  Paul  pretends  to  have  preached  the  Gospel 
as  far  as  Illyria  (Romans  xv.  19).  The  advantages  possess  nothing 


SAINT  PAUL.  29 

substantial,68  and  yet  how  many  wounds  probability  receives  in 
order  to  obtain  them.     First  of  all,  this  pretended  episodical 
journey,  so  short  that  the  author  of  the  Acts  did  not  deem  it 
worth  while  to  speak  of  it,  must  have  been  quite  considerable, 
since  it  included  a  journey  to  Macedonia,  a  journey  to  Crete,  a 
sojourn  at  Corinth,  and  a  wintering  at  Nicopolis.    That  would 
make  almost  a  year.     How  then  can  the  author  of  the  Acts  say 
that  the  sojourn  of  Paul  at  Ephesus  lasted  for  three  years  (Acts 
xix.  8,  10 ;  xx.  31) ?57    These  expressions,  without  doubt,  would 
not  exclude  short  absences,  but  they  exclude  a  series  of  journeys. 
Moreover,  in  the  hypothesis  under  discussion,  the  journey  to 
Nicopolis  would  have  taken  place  before  the  second  epistle  to 
the   Corinthians.58     Now,    in   that   epistle,    Paul   declares  that 
Corinth  is,  at  the  time  he  is  writing,  the  extreme  western  point 
of  his  missions.59     Finally,  the  itinerary  traced  of  Paul's  journey 
is  not  at  all  natural.     Paul  goes  first  to  Macedonia,  —  the  text  is 
formal  (i  Timothy  i.  3),  and  from  there  he  goes  to  Crete.     To 
go  from  Macedonia  to  Crete,  Paul  would  have  been  obliged  to 
take  a  coasting  vessel  either  for  Ephesus,  in  which  case  the  verse 
(i  Timothy  i.  3)  is  devoid  of  sense  ;  or  for  Corinth,  in  which  case 
we  cannot  conceive  why  he  should  be  obliged  to  return  thither 
immediately  after.     And  why  should  Paul,  wishing  to  journey  to 
Epirus,  speak  of  the  wintering  that  is  to  terminate  it,  and  not 
of  the  voyage  itself?     And  how  is  it  that  we  know  nothing  more 
about  this  sojourn  at  Nicopolis  ?     To  suppose  that  Nicopolis  in 
Thrace,  on  the  Nessus,  is  meant,  would  only  serve  to  increase 
the  difficulty,  and  would  have  none  of  the  advantages  of  the 
hypothesis  above  set  forth.     Some  exegetes  think  to  overcome 
the  difficulty  by  slightly  modifying  the  itinerary  exacted  by  this 
hypothesis.      According  to  them,  Paul  went  from  Ephesus  to 
Crete,  from  there  to  Corinth,  then  to  Nicopolis,  then  to  Mace- 
donia.    The  fatal  verse  (i  Timothy  i.  3)  prevents  this.     Let  us 
suppose  a  person  setting  out  from  Paris,  with  the  intention  of 
making  a  tour  in  England,  on   the   borders  of  the  Rhine,  in 
Switzerland,  and  in   Lombardy.     Would   this   person,  having 
3* 


30  SAINT  PAUL. 

arrived  at  Cologne,  write  to  one  of  his  friends  in  Paris,  "  I  left 
you  in  Paris,  upon  setting  out  for  Lombardy"?  The  con- 
duct of  St.  Paul,  in  all  these  suppositions,  is  not  less  absurd 
than  his  itinerary.  The  journey  of  Tychicus  and  Artemas  to 
Crete  is  not  justified.  Why  did  not  Paul  give  Apollos  a  letter 
for  Timothy  ? 60  Why  did  he  refrain  from  writing,  until  doing  so 
through  Tychicus  and  Artemas  ?  f  Why  did  he  not  then  appoint 
the  time  when  Titus  was  to  rejoin  him,  since  his  plans  were  so 
definite?  These  journeys  all  taking  place  by  way  of  Crete,  to 
suit  the  apologetic  requirements,  are  very  unnatural.  Paul,  in 
this  hypothesis  of  the  episodical  journey,  in  whatever  way  they 
arrange  the  itinerary,  gives  and  retains  continually ;  he  performs 
acts  which  he  does  not  follow  up  •  he  only  partially  profits  by 
the  results  of  his  actions,  keeping  for  future  occasions  what  he 
might  very  well  do  on  the  spot.  When  these  epistles  are  in 
question,  it  seems  as  if  the  ordinary  laws  of  probability  and  good 
sense  are  reversed.  All  efforts  to  cause  the  epistles  to  Titus 
and  Timothy  to  assume  a  place  within  the  outlines  of  the  life  of 
St.  Paul,  as  traced  in  the  Acts,  are  therefore  tainted  with 
inexplicable  contradictions.  The  authentic  epistles  of  St.  Paul 
explain  themselves,  take  each  other  for  granted,  penetrate  one 
into  the  other ;  while  the  three  epistles  in  question  would  form 
a  little  circle  of  themselves,  cut  by  a  punch ;  and  it  would  be  so 
much  the  more  singular  that  two  of  them,  the  first  to  Timothy 
and  the  one  to  Titus,  should  fall  exactly  in  the  midst  of  this 
vortex  of  so  well  connected  and  well  known  affairs,  to  which  the 
epistle  to  the  Galatians,  the  two  to  the  Corinthians,  and  the  one 
to  the  Romans  relate.  But  several  of  the  exegetes  who  defend 
the  authenticity  of  these  three  epistles  have  recourse  to  another 
hypothesis.  They  pretend  that  these  epistles  should  be  placed 
in  a  period  of  the  apostle's  life  passed  over  in  silence  by  the 
Acts.  According  to  them,  Paul,  after  the  hearing  before  Nero, 
as  the  Acts  take  for  granted,  was  acquitted,  which  is  very 
possible,  even  probable.  Returned.-  to  liberty,  he  resumes  his 
apostolic  wanderings,  and  goes  to  Spain,  which  is  also  probable. 


SAINT  PAUL.  31 

According  to  the  critics  we  are  now  speaking  of,  Paul,  at  this 
period  of  his  life,  made  a  new  voyage  in  the  Archipelago,  —  a 
voyage  to  which  the  first  epistle  to  Timothy  and  the  epistle  to 
Titus  would  belong.  He  would  return  again  to  Rome  :  there 
he  would  be  a  prisoner  for  the  second  time,  and  from  his  prison 
he  would  write  the  second  to  Timothy. 

All  this,  it  must  be  confessed,  resembles  an  artificial  system 
of  defence  on  the  part  of  a  criminal,  who,  in  order  to  meet 
objections,  is  forced  to  imagine  an  ensemble  of  facts  which  have 
no  connection  with  anything  known.  These  isolated  hypotheses, 
defenceless  and  disconnected  with  all  precedents,  are,  in  the  law, 
the  sign  of  guilt ;  in  criticism,  the  sign  of  the  apocryphal.  Even 
allowing  the  possibility  of  this  new  voyage  in  the  Archipelago, 
we  would  still  have  infinite  trouble  in  making  the  circumstances 
of  the  three  epistles  agree.  The  comings  and  goings  would  be 
very  slightly  accounted  for.  But  such  a  discussion  is  useless, 
It  is  evident,  in  fact,  that  the  author  of  the  second  to  Timothy 
means  to  speak  of  the  captivity  mentioned  by  the  Acts,  and  to 
which  the  epistles  to  the  Philippians,  to  the  Colossians,  and  to 
Philemon  have  reference.  The  close  connection  of  the  2  Timothy 
iv.  9,  22,  with  the  endings  of  the  epistles  to  the  Colossians  and 
to  Philemon,  proves  it.  Those  who  surround  the  apostle  are 
almost  identical  in  both  cases.  The  captivity,  from  the  midst 
of  which  Paul  is  thought  to  have  written  the  second  to  Timothy, 
will  terminate  in  his  liberation  (2  Timothy  iv.  17,  18).  Paul,  in 
this  epistle,  is  full  of  hope.  He  is  meditating  new  plans,  and  is 
preoccupied,  in  fact,  with  the  absorbing  thought,  during  his  first 
(and  only)  captivity,  of  finishing  the  evangelical  preaching; 
preaching  Christ  to  all  nations,  and,  in  particular,  to  the  people 
of  the  extreme  Occident.61  If  the  three  epistles  in  question 
were  of  so  advanced  a  date,  we  should  not  be  able  to  conceive 
how  Timothy  could  always  be  treated  like  a  young  man  in  them. 
We  can,  in  addition,  prove  directly  that  this  voyage  in  the 
Archipelago,  subsequent  to  Paul's  sojourn  in  Rome,  did  not 
take  place.  In  such  a  voyage,  surely  St.  Paul  would  have 


32  SAINT  PAUL. 

touched  at  Miletum  (2  Timothy  iv.  20).  Now,  in  the  beautiful 
discourse  which  the  author  of  the  Acts  assigns  to  Paul  when 
arriving  at  Miletus,  at  the  end  of  his  third  mission,  this  author 
makes  Paul  say,  "  I  know  that  ye  all,  among  whom  I  have  gone 
preaching  the  Kingdom  of  God,  shall  see  my  face  no  more."62 
And  let  it  not  be  said  that  St.  Paul  might  have  deceived  himself 
in  his  foresight,  changed  his  mind,63  and  revisited  a  church  to 
which  he  thought  he  had  bidden  adieu  for  ever.  That  is  not  the 
question.  It  matters  very  little  to  us  whether  St.  Paul  ever 
pronounced  these  words  or  not.  The  author  of  Acts  knew  well 
the  continuation  of  the  life  of  Paul,  although  unfortunately  he 
has  not  deemed  it  proper  to  inform  us  of  it.  It  is  impossible 
that  he  should  have  put  a  prediction  in  his  master's  mouth 
which  he  well  knew  would  not  be  verified. 

The  letters  to  Timothy  and  Titus  are  therefore  rejected  by 
the  entire  contexture  of  the  biography  of  Paul.  When  we  force 
them  into  it  by  any  one  of  their  parts,  they  escape  from  it  by 
another.  Even  by  creating  a  period  in  the  apostle's  life  expressly 
for  them,  we  obtain  nothing  satisfactory.  These  epistles  reject 
each  other  themselves.  They  are  full  of  contradictions.64  Were 
the  Acts  and  the  authentic  epistles  lost,  we  would  not  succeed 
in  creating  a  hypothesis  to  hold  upright  the  three  writings  in 
question.  And  let  it  not  be  said  that  a  forger  would  not  have 
thrown  himself  with  a  joyful  heart  into  these  contradictions. 
Denis  of  Corinth,  in  the  second  century,  has  not  a  less  stranger 
theory  of  the  voyages  of  St.  Paul,  since  he  makes  him  go  to 
Corinth,  and  set  out  from  Corinth  for  Rome  in  company  with 
St.  Peter,65  a  thing  entirely  impossible.  Without  a  doubt,  the 
three  epistles  in  question  were  fabricated  at  a  period  in  which 
the  Acts  did  not  yet  possess  full  authority.  Later,  the  canvas 
of  the  Acts  was  retouched ;  as,  for  instance,  at  the  hands  of  the 
author  of  the  fable  of  Thecla,  toward  the  year  200.  The  author 
of  our  epistles  knows  the  names  of  the  principal  disciples  of 
Paul ;  he  has  read  several  of  his  epistles ; 66  he  has  a  vague  idea 
of  his  voyages ;  his  mind  is  fixed  in  quite  a  correct  manner 


.Y.//.vy  r.iuL.  .?.; 

upon  this  swarm  of  disciples  who  surrounded  Paul,  and  whom 
he  was  starting  off  as  couriers  in  all  directions.07  But  the  details 
he  imagines  are  false  and  inconsistent.  He  always  considers 
Timothy  as  a  young  man.  The  incomplete  idea  which  he  has  of 
a  journey  of  Paul  to  Crete  leads  him  to  believe  that  the  apostle 
has  established  churches  there.  The  persons  whom  he  intro- 
duces in  the  three  epistles  are  above  all  Ephesian.  We  are 
tempted  at  moments  to  believe  that  the  desire  of  exalting 
certain  families  of  Ephesus,  and  of  lowering  others,  was  not 
entirely  absent  from  the  fabricator's  mind.68  Are  the  three 
epistles  in  question  apocryphal  from  one  end  to  another,  or  did 
they  make  use  of  authentic  notes  addressed  to  Titus  and  Timo- 
thy in  composing  them, — notes  which  they  may  have  altered  to 
suit  the  ideas  of  the  day,  with  the  intention  of  lending  a  show 
of  apostolic  authority  to  the  development  that  the  ecclesiastic 
hierarchy  was  manifesting  ?  It  is  a  matter  difficult  to  decide. 
Perhaps  in  certain  parts,  at  the  end  of  the  second  to  Timothy,  for 
instance,  notes  of  different  dates  were  mingled ;  but  even  then 
we  must  admit  that  the  fabricator  gave  his  fancy  full  latitude. 
In  fact,  one  consequence  which  results  from  this  proceeding  is, 
that  the  three  epistles  are  sisters ;  that  they  compose,  in  truth, 
only  one  work ;  and  that  there  is  no  distinction  between  them, 
arising  from  respective  claims  to  authenticity. 

It  is  entirely  a  different  question  to  determine  whether  any  of 
the  statements  of  the  second  to  Timothy  (i.  15,  18;  ii.  17,  18 ; 
iv.  9,  2 1 ),  for  instance,  have  not  a  historical  value.  The  fabri- 
cator, though  not  well  acquainted  with  the  life  of  Paul,  and  not 
having  the  Acts,69  might  have  been  in  possession  of  original 
details,  especially  concerning  the  last  years  of  the  apostle.  In 
particular,  we  believe  that  the  passage  of  the  second  to  Timothy 
(iv.  9,  2 1 )  is  very  important,  and  throws  a  true  light  on  the  cap- 
tivity of  Paul  in  Rome.  The  fourth  gospel  is  also,  in  its  way, 
an  apocryphal  work ;  but  we  cannot,  on  that  account,  say  that  it 
is  a  work  without  historical  value.  As  to  the  oddness  of  our 
opinions  in  these  suppositions  concerning  works,  that  must  in  no 


34  SAINT  PAUL. 

wise  trouble  us.  That  did  not  raise  any  scruples.70  If  the  pious 
author  of  the  false  letters  to  Timothy  and  Titus  could  return, 
and  be  present  at  the  discussions  of  which  he  is  the  cause  among 
us,  he 'would  not  defend  himself.  He  would  reply,  like  the  priest 
of  Asia,  author  of  the  fiction  of  Thecla,  when  he  saw  himself 
driven  to  extremes,  "  Convictum  atque  confessum  id  se  amore 
Pauli  fecisse" 71  The  time  of  the  composition  of  these  three 
epistles  may  be  located  to  wards  .the  year  90  or  100.  Theophi- 
lus  of  Antioch  (towards  the  year  170)  quotes  them  in  direct 
terms.72  Irenaeus,73  Clement  of  Alexandria,74  and  Tertullian,75 
also  admit  them.  Marcion,  on  the  contrary,  either  rejects  them 
or  has  no  knowledge  of  them.76  The  allusions,  supposed 
to  exist  in  the  epistles  attributed  to  Clement  of  Rome,77  Igna- 
tius,78 and  Polycarp,79  are  doubtful.  There  were  in  the  atmos- 
phere of  this  period  a  certain  number  of  homiletic  phrases  quite 
complete.  The  presence  of  these  phrases  in  a  writing  does  not 
prove  that  the  author  borrowed  them  directly  from  such  other 
writing  which  may  contain  them.  The  agreement  which  we 
remark  between  certain  expressions  of  Hegesippus 80  and  certain 
passages  in  the  epistles  in  question  is  singular.  We  know  not 
what  inference  to  draw  from  it;  for  if,  in  these  expressions, 
Hegesippus  has  the  first  epistle  to  Timothy  in  view,  it  would 
seem  as  if  he  regarded  it  as  a  writing  subsequent  to  the  death 
of  the  apostles.  However  it  may  be,  it  is  clear  that  when  they 
made  the  collection  of  Paul's  letters,  those  addressed  to  Titus 
and  Timothy  possessed  full  authority.  Where  were  they  com- . 
posed  ?  Perhaps  at  Ephesus,81  perhaps  at  Rome.  Those  in 
favor  of  the  second  hypothesis  might  say  that  the  errors  found 
in  them  would  not  have  been  made  in  the  east.  The  style 
contains  Latinisms.82  The  motive  that  gave  rise  to  the  writing, 
namely,  the  desire  of  increasing  the  force  of  the  hierarchical 
principle  and  authority  of  the  church,  by  presenting  a  model  of 
piety,  docility,  "  ecclesiastic  spirit,"  traced  out  by  the  apostle 
himself,  is  entirely  in  harmony  with  our  knowledge  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  Roman  church  from  the  first  century. 


SAINT  PAUL.  35 

It  remains  for  us  to  speak  of  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  As 
we  have  already  asserted,  this  epistle  would  not  be  from  Paul, 
had  it  not  been  classed  in  the  same  category  with  the  two  epistles 
to  Timothy  and  the  epistle  to  Titus,  for  the  author  does  not  seek 
to  pass  his  work  off  for  a  writing  of  the  apostle  Paul's.  What 
is  the  value  of  the  opinion  which  has  established  itself  in  the 
church,  and  according  to  which  Paul  would  be  the  author  of  the 
said  epistle  ?  The  study  of  th£  manuscripts,  the  examination 
of  ecclesiastical  tradition,  and  the  intrinsic  criticism  of  the  piece 
itself,  are  going  to  enlighten  us  upon  this  subject. 

The  old  manuscripts  have  simply  at  the  head  of  the  epistle 
JJpoZ  E/Jpaiov?.  As  to  the  order  of  transcription,  the  Codex 
Vaticanus  and  the  Codex  Sinaiticus,  representing  the  Alexan- 
drine tradition,  place  the  epistle  among  those  of  Paul.  The 
Greco-Latin  manuscripts,  on  the  other  hand,  manifest  all  the 
hesitancies  prevalent  in  the  west  during  the  first  half  of  the 
middle  age  concerning  the  canonicity  of  the  epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  and  consequently  its  being  attributed  to  Paul.  The 
Codex  Boernerianus  omits  it ;  the  Codex  Angiensis  only  gives  it 
in  Latin,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  epistles  of  Paul.  The  Codex 
Claromontanus  gives  the  epistle  in  question  no  rank  at  all,  like  a 
sort  of  appendix  after  the  general  stichometry  of  the  Scripture,83 
a  proof  that  the  epistle  did  not  exist  in  the  manuscript  from  which 
the  Claromontanus  was  transcribed.  In  the  above-mentioned 
stichometry  (a  very  old  writing),  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  does 
not  figure  at  all ;  or,  if  it  does,  it  is  under  the  name  of  Barnabas.84 
Finally,  the  errors  which  crowd  the  Latin  text  of  the  epistle  in 
Claromontanus  would  be  sufficient  to  awaken  the  suspicion  of 
the  critic,  and  to  prove  that  this  epistle  only  entered  into  the 
canon  of  the  Latin  church  slowly  and  unawares.85  The  same 
uncertainty  exists  in  the  tradition.  Marcion  had  not  the  epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  in  his  collection  of  the  epistles  of  Paul.86  The 
author  of  the  so-called  canon  of  Muratori  omits  it  in  his  list. 
Irenaeus  is  acquainted  with  the  writing  in  question,  but  does 
not  consider  it  from  Paul.87  Clement  of  Alexandria  w  believes 


36  SAINT  PAUL. 

it  to  be  from  Paul ;  but  he  is  conscious  of  the  difficulty  in 
attributing  it  to  him,  and  has  recourse  to  a  not  very  acceptable 
hypothesis,  in  order  to  clear  himself:  he  supposes  that  Paul 
wrote  the  epistle  in  Hebrew,  and  that  Luke  translated  it  into 
Greek.  Origen,  in  one  sense,  likewise  admits  the  epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  as  being  from  Paul,  but  he  acknowledges  that  many 
persons  deny  that  it  was  written  by  the  latter.  He  does  not 
recognize  Paul's  style  in  it,  and  supposes  somewhat  in  the  same 
way  as  Clement  of  Alexandria,  that  the  basis  of  the  ideas  alone 
belongs  to  the  apostle.  "The  character  of  the  style  of  the 
epistle  entitled,  'To  the  Hebrews/"  he  remarks,  "has  not 
the  rusticity  of  the  apostle's.  .  .  .  This  letter  is,  in  respect  to 
the  arrangement  of  the  words,  much  more  Hellenic,  as  any  one 
would  acknowledge  who  is  capable  of  judging  of  the  difference 
of  the  styles.  ...  As  for  me,  if  I  were  to  express  an  opinion, 
I  would  say  that  the  thoughts  are  the  apostle's,  but  that  the 
style  and  arrangement  of  the  words  indicate  that  the  sayings 
of  the  apostle  were  reported  memoriter  by  some  one,  who  also 
committed  the  discourses  of  his  master  to  writing.  If,  then, 
any  church  considers  this  epistle  from  Paul,  we  have  only  to 
approve  it ;  for  it  cannot  be  that  the  elders  had  no  reason  in 
transmitting  it  as  a  writing  of  Paul's.  As  to  the  question  of 
knowing  who  wrote  this  epistle,  God  knows  the  truth.  Among 
the  opinions  transmitted  us  by  history,  one  holds  that  it  was 
written  by  Clement,  who  was  bishop  of  the  Romans ;  another, 
by  Luke,  who  wrote  the  Gospels  and  the  Acts." 89  Tertullian 
does  not  observe  so  many  considerations;  he  presents  the 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  frankly,  as  the  work  of  Barnabas.90 
Cams,  priest  of  Rome,91  St.  Hypolitus,92  and  St.  Cyprian,93  did 
not  place  it  among  the  epistles  of  Paul.  In  the  dispute  con- 
cerning Novatianism,  in  which  there  were  several  reasons  for 
making  use  of  this  epistle,  we  find  no  mention  of  it. 

It  was  at  Alexandria  where  was  found  that  centre  of  opinion 
which  wished  to  intercalate  the  epistle  to  the -Hebrews  into 
the  series  of  Paul's  letters.  Toward  the  middle  of  the  third 


SAINT  PAUL.  37 

century,  Dionysius  of  Alexandria94  did  not  seem  to  doubt  that 
Paul  was  the  author  of  it.  From  this  period  on,  it  is  the  most 
general  opinion  in  the  East.95  Nevertheless,  objections  do  not 
cease  to  be  heard.96  Above  all,  are  they  energetic  among  the 
I  .aiins,"7  the  Roman  Church  in  particular  maintaining  that  the 
epistle  is  not  from  Paul.93  Eusebius  hesitates  a  great  deal,  and 
returns  to  the  hypotheses  of  Clement  of  Alexandria  and  Origen. 
He  inclines  to  the  belief  that  the  epistle  was  composed  in 
Hebrew  by  Paul  and  translated  by  Clement.  The  Romans,99 
St.  Jerome100  and  St.  Augustine,101  have  difficulty  in  silencing 
their  doubts,  and  seldom  quote  this  portion  of  the  canon  without 
reservation.  Divers  documents  always  persist  in  naming  Luke, 
Barnabas,  or  Clement,  as  author  of  the  work.102  The  old  manu- 
scripts of  Latin  origin  would  suffice,  as  we  have  seen,  to  testify 
to  the  repugnance  that  the  West  experienced  when  this  epistle 
was  presented  to  it  as  one  of  Paul's  works.  It  is  clear,  therefore, 
that  when  they  made  the  editio  princeps,  if  the  expression  be 
allowed,  of  Paul's  letters,  their  number  was  fixed  at  thirteen. 
They  became  accustomed  at  an  early  day,  no  doubt,  to  place 
the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  at  the  end  of  these  thirteen  letters, 
as  an  anonymous  apostolic  writing,  which  resembled  in  certain 
respects  to  ideas  the  writings  of  Paul.  After  this,  there  was 
but  one  step  to  take  in  order  to  attain  the  impression  that  the 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  written  by  the  apostle.  Everything 
leads  us  to  believe  that  this  inference  was  drawn  at  Alexandria  ; 
that  is  to  say,  in  a  church  relatively  modern  when  compared 
to  the  churches  of  Syria,  Asia,  Greece,  and  Rome.  Such  an 
inference  can  have  no  value  in  a  critical  examination,  if  good 
intrinsic  proofs  prevent  the  attributing  of  the  epistle  in  question 
to  the  apostle  Paul. 

Now,  such  is  in  reality  the  case.  Clement  of  Alexandria  and 
Origen,  good  judges  in  regard  to  Greek  style,  do  not  discover 
the  characteristics  of  St.  Paul's  style  in  this  epistle.  St.  Jerome 
has  the  same  opinion.  The  Fathers  of  the  Latin  Church,  who 
are  unwilling  to  accept  it  as  an  epistle  of  Paul's,  give  the  reason 
4 


38  SAINT  PAUL. 

of  their  action,  propter  styli  scrmo7iisque  distantiam.™  This 
reason  is  excellent.  The  style  of  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  is, 
in  truth,  different  from  that  of  Paul.  It  is  more  oratorical,  fuller, 
the  language  presents  particular  words.  The  basis  of  the 
thoughts  is  not  unlike  the  opinions  of  Paul,  especially  of  the 
captive  Paul ;  but  the  exposition  and  exegesis  are  entirely 
different  No  personal  superscription,  contrary  to  the  constant 
usage  of  the  apostle.  Characteristics,  always  expected  to  be  met 
with  in  an  epistle  from  Paul,  are  wanting  in  this.  The  exegesis 
is  above  all  allegorical,  and  resembles  that  of  Philo  much  more 
than  Paul's.  The  author  betrays  Alexandrine  culture ;  he 
only  makes  use  of  the  so-called  version  of  the  Septuagint ;  his 
reasoning  concerning  the  text  of  this  version  shows  a  complete 
ignorance  of  Hebrew ; 104  his  manner  of  quoting  and  analyzing 
biblical  texts  is  not  conformable  to  Paul's  method.  The  author, 
on  another  side,  is  a  Jew ;  he  thinks  to  exalt  the  Messiah  by 
comparing  him  to  the  Jewish  high  priest;  Christianity  is  for 
him  only  a  sort  of  Judaism  fulfilled ;  he  is  far  from  regarding 
the  law  as  abolished.  The  passage  (ii.  3)  in  which  the  author 
ranks  himself  among  those  who  have  only  known  the  mysteries 
of  the  life  of  Christ  indirectly  from  the  lips  of  Jesus'  disciples, 
in  no  wise  corresponds  to  one  of  Paul's  most  decided  declara- 
tions. Finally,  let  us  add  that  in  writing  to  Jewish-Christians, 
Paul  would  have  neglected  his  most  inflexible  resolution,  which 
was,  never  to  perform  a  pastoral  act  upon  the  territory  of  the 
Jewish-Christian  churches,  so  that  the  apostles  of  circumcision 
should  not,  on  their  side,  encroach  upon  the  churches  of  the 
uncircumcised. 105 

The  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  is,  therefore,  not  from  Paul.  From 
whom  is  it  ?  Where  was  it  written  ?  To  whom  was  it  addressed  ? 
We  shall  examine  all  these  points  in  our  fourth  volume.  For 
the  present,  the  date  alone  of  so  important  a  writing  interests 
us.  Now,  this  date  can  be  determined  with  considerable  pre- 
cision. The  epistle  to  the  Hebrew's  is,  according  to  all 
probabilities,  subsequent  to  the  year  70,  since  the  Levitical 


SAINT  PAUL.  39 

service  of  the  temple  is  represented  in  it  as  continuing  regularly 
and  without  interruption.100  From  another  side,  the  passages 
xiii.  7,  and  even  v.  12,  appear  to  contain  an  allusion  to  the 
death  of  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem,  —  James,  brother  of  the  Lord, 
for  instance.  The  passage  xiii.  13,  seems  to  relate  to  a  deliver- 
ance of  Timothy,  subsequent  to  the  death  of  Paul.107  The  pas- 
sages v.  32,  and  following,  and  perhaps  xiii.  7,  are,  I  believe,  a 
distinct  mention  of  the  persecution  of  Nero  in  the  year  64. 108  It 
is  probable  that  the  passage  iii.  7,  and  following,  contain  an 
allusion  to  the  beginning  of  the  revolt  of  Judea  (year  66)  and  a 
presentiment  of  the  evils  which  are  going  to  ensue.  This 
passage  also  implies  that  the  year  40,  since  the  death  of  Jesus, 
had  not  elapsed,  and  that  this  term  was  drawing  near.  So 
everything  goes  toward  making  us  suppose  that  the  committing 
to  writing  of  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  took  place  in  65-70, 
probably  in  the  year  66.109 

After  having  discussed  the  authenticity,  we  have  now  to 
discuss  the  soundness  of  the  epistles  of  Paul.  The  authentic 
epistles  were  never  interpolated.110  The  style  of  the  apostle  is 
so  peculiarly  his  own,  so  original,  that  any  addition  would  stand 
out  upon  the  ground  of  the  text  by  its  lack  of  color.  In  the 
labor  of  editing,  however,  which  took  place  when  the  epistles 
were  collected,  several  processes  were  gone  through  with,  of 
which  we  must  take  note.  The  method  of  the  editors  seems  to 
have  been:  First,  to  add  nothing  to  the  text;  Second,  to  lose 
nothing  of  what  they  thought  had  been  dictated  or  written  by 
the  apostle ;  Third,  to  avoid  the  repetitions  which  could  not 
fail  to  occur,  especially  in  the  case  of  circular  letters,  with 
corresponding  parts.  The  editors,  in  such  a  case,  appear  to 
have  followed  a  system  of  piecing  or  intercalation,  the  design  of 
which  seems  to  have  been  to  save  writings  which  otherwise 
would  have  perished.  Thus  the  passage  2  Corinthians  vi.  14, 
vii.  i,  forms  a  short  paragraph,  which  so  singularly  severs  the 
continuation  of  the  epistle  that  we  are  led  to  believe  that  it  was 
rudely  sewed  on  there.  The  last  chapters  of  the  epistle  to 


40  SAINT  PAUL. 

the  Romans  present  facts  still  more  striking,  and  which  it  is 
necessary  to  discuss  minutely;  for  many  of  the  portions  of  Paul's 
biography  depend  upon  the  system  adopted  in  these  chapters. 

In  reading  the  epistle  to  the  Romans,  we  experience  some 
astonishment  upon  reaching  the  twelfth  chapter.  There,  Paul 
appears  to  depart  from  his  customary  rule,  "  Every  one  on  his 
own  ground."  It  is  strange  that  he  should  give  imperative 
counsels  to  a  church  which  he  did  not  establish,  he  who  is  so 
quick  to  animadvert  upon  the  impertinence  of  those  who  strive 
to  build  upon  foundations  laid  by  others.111  At  the  end  of  the 
fourteenth  chapter,  still  stranger  particularities  are  found. 
Several  manuscripts,  which  Griesbach  follows,  after  the  example 
of  John  Chrysostom,  Theodoret,  Theophylact,  and  CEcumenius,112 
contain  at  this  place  the  ending  of  chapter  xvi.  (verses  25,  27). 
The  Codex  Ale xandr inns,  and  several  others,  repeat  this  ending 
twice  :  once  at  the  <end  of  the  fourteenth  chapter,  and  again  at 
the  end  of  the  sixteenth  chapter. 

The  verses  1-13  of  chapter  xv.  excite  our  surprise  again. 
These  verses  tamely  repeat  and  resume  what  precedes.  It  is 
hardly  to  be  imagined  that  they  occurred  in  the  same  letter  with 
what  precedes  them.  Paul  often  repeats  himself  in  the  course 
of  the  same  exposition,  but  he  never  returns  to  an  argument  to 
resume  it  and  weaken  it.  Let  us  add  that  the  verses  1-13  ap- 
pear to  be  addressed  to  Jewish-Christians.  St.  Paul  here  makes 
concessions  to  Jewish  ideas.113  What  could  be  more  singular  than 
this  8th  verse,  in  which  Christ  is  called  diaxovo?  Ttepiro^rj?? 
It  would  seem  that  this  is  a  resume  of  chapters  xii.,  xiii.,  and  xiv., 
for  the  use  of  Jewish-Christian  readers,  to  whom  Paul  is  anx- 
ious to  prove,  by  texts,  that  the  adoption  of  the  Gentiles  .does 
not  exclude  the  right  from  Israel,  and  that  Christ  fulfilled  the 
ancient  promises.114 

The  portion  of  chapter  xv.,  from  14-33,  inclusive,  is  evidently 
addressed  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  to  that  church  alone. 
Here  Paul  expresses  himself  with  a  reserve,  as  is  proper  in 
writing  to  a  church  which  he  has  not  seen,  and  which,  being 


SAINT  PAUL.  41 

mostly  Judo-Christian,  is  not  directly  under  his  jurisdiction.  In 
chapters  xii.,  xiii.,  and  xiv.,  the  tone  of  the  letter  is  firmer  ;  the 
apostle  now  speaks«with  a  mild  authority ;  he  makes  use  of  the 
verb  TrapaxaXcj,  a  verb  of  a  very  subdued  tinge  without  a 
doubt,  but  which  is  always  the  word  that  he  makes  use  of  when 
speaking  to  his  disciples.115 

The  verse  33  is  a  complete  conclusion  to  the  epistle  to  the 
Romans,  according  to  St.  Paul's  rules  on  ending.  The  verses 
i  and  2  of  the  chapter  xvi.  might  still  be  admitted  as  a  post- 
scriptum  to  the  epistle  to  the  Romans ;  but  what  follows  the 
3d  verse  gives  rise  to  real  difficulties.  Paul,  as  if  he  had  not 
closed  his  letter  with  the  word  amen,  sets  about  saluting  twenty- 
six  persons,  without  mentioning  the  five  churches  or  groups. 
In  the  first  place,  Paul  never  puts  salutations  after  the  benedic- 
tion and  the  amen,  in  this  manner.  Besides,  these  are  not  ordi- 
nary salutations,  such  as  one  might  address  to  those  whom  he  has 
not  seen.  Paul  has  evidently  had  the  most  intimate  connec- 
tions with  the  persons  whom  he  salutes.  Each  of  them  has 
his  particular  characteristic.  This  one  has  worked  with  him ; 
these  were  in  prison  with  him  ;  another  has  been  a  mother  to 
him  (doubtlessly  taking  care  of  him  in  some  sickness).116  He 
knows  at  what  time  each  one  was  converted ;  all  are  his  friends, 
his  coadjutors,  his  beloved.  It  is  not  natural  that  he  should 
have  such  relations  with  a  church  in  which  he  has  never  been, 
which  is  not  of  his  school,  with  a  Jewish-Christian  church  in 
which  his  principles  forbid  him  to  labor.  Not  only  does  he 
know  by  name  all  the  Christians  of  the  church  to  which  he  is 
writing,  but  he  even  knows  the  masters  of  those  who  are  slaves, 
Aristobulus  and  Narcissus.  How  can  he  designate  with  so  much 
confidence  these  two  households,  if  they  are  at  Rome,  where  he 
has  never  been  ?  Writing  to  churches  which  he  has  established, 
Paul  salutes  two  or  three  persons.  Why  does  he  salute  so  large 
a  number  of  brethren  and  sisters  in  a  church  which  he  has 
never  visited  ?  If  we  examine  in  detail  the  persons  whom  he 
salutes,  we  shall  see  with  still  more  evidence  that  this  page  of 
4* 

ff^>      0»  TH*"^^^ 

IVII71ASIT71 


42  SAINT  PAUL. 

salutations  was  never  addressed  to  the  Church  of  Rome.  We 
do  not  find  in  it  any  of  those  whom  we  know  to  have  belonged 
to  the  Church  of  Rome  ;  m  and  we  do  find  several  persons  who 
assuredly  never  were  of  that  number.  First  of  all  (v.  3-4)  come 
Aquila  and  Priscilla.  All  acknowledge  that  only  a  few  months 
elapsed  between  the  writing  of  the  first  epistle  to  the  Corin- 
thians and  the  writing  of  the  epistle  to  the  Romans.  Now, 
when  St.  Paul  wrote  the  first  to  the  Corinthians,  Aquila  and 
Priscilla  were  at  Ephesus.118  In  the  mean  time,  this  apostolic 
couple,  it  is  urged,  might  have  set  out  for  Rome.  That  would 
be  very  singular.  Aquila  and  Priscilla  had  left  Rome  once, 
driven  out  by  an  edict.  We  find  them  afterward  in  Corinth, 
then  in  Ephesus.  To  lead  them  back  to  Rome,  without  having 
their  sentence  of  banishment  repealed,  on  the  very  day  after 
that  on  which  Paul  has  bidden  them  adieu  at  Ephesus,  would 
be  assigning  them  a  too  nomadic  life,  and  heaping  up  improba- 
bilities. Let  us  add,  that  the  author  of  the  second  apocryphal 
epistle  of  Paul  to  Timothy  supposes  Aquila  and  Priscilla  to  be 
at  Ephesus,-19  which  proves  that  tradition  located  them  there. 
The  petty  Roman  martyrology  (source  of  the  subsequent  re- 
ductions) makes  the  following  entry  on  the  8th  of  July :  In 
Asia  Minor i,  Aquila.  et  Priscilla  tixoris  ejus.™  This  is  not  all. 
In  the  5th  verse  of  chapter  v.,  Paul  salutes  Epenetus  as  "the 
first  fruits  of  Asia  unto  Christ."  What !  had  the  whole  of  the 
Church  of  Ephesus  agreed  to  meet  at  Rome?  The  list  of 
names  which  follows  likewise  agrees  better  with  Ephesus  than 
Rome.121  Without  doubt,  the  first  Church  of  Rome  was  chiefly 
Grecian  in  language.  In  the  world  of  slaves  and  freedmen, 
from  which  Christianity  was  recruiting  itself,  Greek  names  even 
at  Rome  were  common.122  Nevertheless,  in  examining  the  Jew- 
ish inscriptions  of  Rome,  P.  Garrucci  found  that  the  number  of 
Latin  proper  names  was  double  that  of  the  Greek  names.123 
Now  here,  out  of  twenty-four  names,  there  are  sixteen  Greek, 
seven  Latin,  one  Hebrew,  so  that  there  are  more  than  twice  as 
many  Greek  as  Latin  names.  The  names  of  the  heads  of 


SAIXT  I\\UL.  43 

households,  Aristobulus  and  Narcissus,  are  also  Greek.  The 
3- 1 6th  verses  of  chapter  xvi.,  Romans,  were  not  therefore  ad- 
dressed to  the  Church  of  Rome,  they  were  addressed  to  the 
Church  of  Ephesus.  Nor  could  the  iy-2oth  verses  have  been 
addressed  to  the  Romans.  St.  Paul  here  resumes  his  custom- 
ary word  when  he  gives  an  order  to  his  disciples  (TtapaKaTtoo) : 
he  expresses  himself  with  extreme  sharpness  in  regard  to  the 
divisions  caused  by  his  adversaries.  We  feel  that  he  is  here  at 
home ;  he  knows  the  state  of  the  church  he  is  addressing ;  he 
takes  pride  in  it,  like  a  master  in  his  pupils  (£(p  VJJLIV  xaipco). 
These  verses  have  no  meaning,  if  we  suppose  them  addressed 
by  the  apostle  to  a  church  which  would  have  been  unknown  to 
him  ;  each  word  proves  that  he  had  preached  to  those  to  whom 
he  was  writing,  and  that  they  were  enticed  by  his  enemies. 
These  verses  could  only  have  been  addressed  to  the  Corinthians 
or  to  the  Ephesians.  The  epistle  at  the  end  of  which  they  are 
found  was  written  from  Corinth ;  these  verses,  which  consti- 
tute the  ending  of  a  letter,  were  therefore  addressed  to  the 
Ephesians.  As  we  have  shown  that  the  verses  3-16  were  also 
addressed  to  the  faithful  of  Ephesus,  we  thus  obtain  a  long  frag- 
ment (xvi.  3-20)  which  was  to  have  formed  part  of  a  letter  to 
the  Ephesians.  Then  it  becomes  more  natural  to  attach  to  the 
3-2oth  verses  the  i-2d  verses  of  the  same  chapter,  —  verses 
which  may  be  considered  as  a  post-scriptum  after  the  amen,  but 
which  it  is  better  to  refer  to  what  follows.  The  journey  of 
Phebe  thus  assumes  a  greater  show  of  probability.  Finally,  the 
rather  imperative  recommendations  of  the  2d  verse,  chapter  xvi., 
and  the  motive  with  which  Paul  urges  them,  are  better  under- 
stood addressed  to  the  Ephesians,  who  were  under  so  many 
obligations  to  the  apostle,  than  when  addressed  to  the  Romans, 
who  owed  him  nothing. 

The  2i-24th  verses  of  the  sixteenth  chapter,124  are  not  quali- 
fied, any  more  than  what  precedes,  to  constitute  a  part  of  an 
epistle  to  the  Romans.  Why  should  all  these  persons,  who  had 
never  been  at  Rome,  who  were  not  known  to  the  faithful  of 


44  SAINT  PAUL. 

Rome,  salute  the  latter?  Who  could  tell  the  Church  of  Rome 
the  names  of  these  unknown  ones  ?  One  very  important  obser- 
vation is,  that  they  are  names  of  Macedonians,  or  of  people 
who  might  know  the  churches  of  Macedonia.  The  24th  verse  is 
an  ending  to  a  letter.  The  21-24111  verses,  therefore,  may  be  the 
end  of  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Thessalonians. 

The  2  5-2  yth  verses  offer  us  a  new  ending,  which  has  nothing 
topical,  and  which,  as  already  stated,  occurs  in  several  manu- 
scripts at  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  chapter. 

In  other  manuscripts,  particularly  in  the  Boerneriamis  and 
Augiensis  (Greek  portion),  this  ending  is  wanting.125  Assuredly 
this  piece  did  not  belong  to  the  epistle  to  the  Romans,  termi- 
nating at  the  33d  verse,  chapter  xv.,  nor  to  the  epistle  to  the 
Ephesians,  terminating  at  the  2oth  verse,  chapter  xvi.,  nor  to  the 
epistle  to  the  churches  of  Macedonia,  which  terminates  at  the 
24th  verse,  Chapter  xvi.  We  arrive,  then,  at  this  strange  conclu- 
sion, that  the  epistle  ends  four  times,  and  in  the  Codex  Alexan- 
drinus  five  times.  This  is  absolutely  contrary  to  the  custom  of 
Paul,  and  even  to  good  sense.  We  have  here,  then,  a  difficulty 
arising  from  some  particular  accident.  Must  we,  like  Mar- 
cion 126  and  Bauer,  pronounce  the  last  two  chapters  of  the  epistle 
to  the  Romans  apocryphal  ?  It  is  surprising  that  so  skilful  a 
critic  as  Bauer  should  be  satisfied  with  such  an  uncouth  solu- 
tion. Why  would  a  fabricator  have  invented  such  insignificant 
details  ?  Why  would  he  have  added  a  list  of  proper  names  to 
a  sacred  work  ?  In  the  first  and  second  centuries,  the  authors 
of  apocryphal  works  had,  almost  without  exception,  a  dog- 
matic interest.  They  interpolated  the  apostolic  writings,  with 
a  view  of  establishing  a  doctrine  or  discipline.  We  deem  our- 
selves able  to  propose  a  more  satisfactory  hypothesis  than 
Bauer.  According  to  our  opinion,  the  so-called  epistle  to  the 
Romans,  in  the  first  place,  was  not  addressed  in  its  entirety  to 
the  Romans,  and,  in  the  second  place,  was  not  addressed  to  the 
Romans  alone. 

St.  Paul,  in  advancing  in  his  career,  acquired  a  taste  for  en- 


SAINT  PAUL.  45 

cyclical  epistles,127  destined  to  be  read  in  several  churches. 1W 
We  are  of*  the  opinion  that  the  body  of  the  epistle  to  the 
Romans  was  an  encyclical  of  this  sort.  St.  Paul,  at  the  period 
of  his  full  maturity,  addresses  it  to  his  most  important  churches, 
—  at  least  to  three  of  them,  —  and  by  exception,  he  addresses 
it  to  the  church  of  Rome.  The  four  endings,  occurring  in 
verses  xv.  33,  xvi.  40,  xvi.  24,  and  xvi.  27,  are  the  endings 
of  the  different  copies  sent.  When  they  edited  the  epistles,  the 
one  addressed  to  the  church  of  Rome  was  taken  as  a  basis ; 129 
but  in  order  to  lose  nothing,  they  placed,  in  continuation  of 
the  text  thus  arranged,  the  varying  portions,  and  especially 
the  divers  endings  of  the  abandoned  copies.130  This  explains 
the  existence  of  so  many  singularities.  First :  The  double 
service  performed  by  the  passage,  xv.  1-13,  with  the  twelfth, 
thirteenth,  and  fourteenth  chapters,  which,  although  unsuitable 
for  the  Romans  are  suitable  for  the  churches  founded  by  the 
apostle ;  while  the  passage,  xv.  1-13,  cannot  be  addressed  to 
the  disciples  of  Paul,  and,  on  the  contrary,  can  be  to  the  Ro- 
mans. Second  :  Certain  characteristics  of  the  epistle  which  but 
slightly  adapt  themselves  to  the  faithful  of  Rome,  and  would 
even  border  upon  indiscretion  were  they  solely  addressed  to 
the  latter.131  Third  :  The  hesitation  of  the  best  critics  in  regard 
to  the  question  of  knowing  whether  the  epistle  was  addressed  to 
the  converted  heathen  or  to  Jewish  Christians.132  A  very  simple 
matter,  according  to  our  hypothesis  ;  for  then  the  principal  por- 
tions would  have  been  composed  for  several  churches  at  once. 
Fourth  :  It  being  a  surprising  fact  that  Paul  should  compose 
so  important  a  writing  solely  in  consideration  of  a  church  which 
was  unknown  to  him,  and  over  which  he  had  very  questionable 
privileges.  Fifth :  Finally,  the  strange  peculiarities  of  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  chapters;  these  salutations  in  the  wrong  way; 
these  four  endings,  three  of  which  did  not  certainly  exist  in  the 
copy  sent  to  Rome.  It  will  be  seen  in  the  progress  of  the 
present  volume  how  well  this  hypothesis  accords  with  all  the 
other  necessities  of  Paul's  life. 


4<>  SAINT  PAUL. 

Let  us  not  omit  the  testimony  of  an  important  manuscript. 
The  Codex  Bocrnerianus  has  not  the  mention  of  Rome  in  the 
7-1 5th  verses  of  the  first  chapter.133  It  would  be  impossible  to 
say  that  this  is  an  omission  made  in  consideration  of  their  being 
read  in  the  churches.  The  Boernerian  manuscript,  a  work  of 
the  philologers  of  St.  Gall,  about  the  year  900,  declares  its 
design  to  be  purely  exegetical,  and  was  copied  from  a  very  old 
manuscript.  The  notes  will  suffice  to  explain  to  the  reader  the 
nature  of  the  other  documents  which  I  have  employed,  and  the 
usage  I  have  put  them  to.  I  do  not  believe  that  I  have  neglected 
any  means  of  information  or  verification.  I  have  visited  all  the 
countries  mentioned  in  this  volume,  excepting  Galatia.  In  the 
Talmudic  portion,  I  have  had  the  learned  co-operation  of  Mr. 
Joseph  Derenbourg  and  of  Mr.  Neubauer.  In  geographical 
questions,  I  have  conferred  with  Messrs.  Perrot,  Heuzey,  and 
Ernst  Desjardius,  upon  all  difficult  points.  In  the  Greek  and 
Latin  portions,  especially  in  inscriptions,  three  colleagues, 
Messrs.  Leon  Renier,  Egger,  and  Waddington,  whose  friendship 
I  value  most  highly,  have  permitted  me  to  have  recourse,  at  all 
times,  to  their  fine  critical  judgment  and  profound  erudition. 
Mr.  Waddington,  in  particular,  knows  Syria  and  Asia  so  per- 
fectly, that,  in  questions  relating  to  these  countries,  I  never  feel 
my  conscience  at  rest  until  I  have  succeeded  in  adjusting  my 
views  to  those  of  this  wise  and  judicious  explorer. 

I  have  regretted  not  being  able  to  give  place  in  this  book  to 
an  account  of  the  last  part  of  St.  Paul's  life ;  but  it  would  have 
been  necessary  to  enlarge  this  volume  exceedingly.  And  further, 
the  third  book  would  have  thus  lost  something  of  the  historical 
solidity  which  characterizes  it.  In  truth,  from  the  arrival  of 
Paul  at  Rome,  we  cease  to  stand  upon  the  ground  of  unques- 
tioned texts,  —  we  begin  to  struggle  in  the  darkness  of  legends 
and  apocryphal  documents.  The  next  volume  (fourth  book  of 
the  history  of  the  origins  of  Christianity)  will  present  the  end  of 
Paul's  life,  the  events  of  Judea,  the  going  of  Peter  to  Rorr.o  (I 
consider  it  probable),  the  persecution  of  Nero,  the  death  oJ  the 


SAINT  PAUL.  47 

apostles,  the  Apocalypse,  the  taking  of  Jerusalem,  and  the 
editing  of  the  Synoptical  Gospels.  Then  a  fifth  and  last  volume 
will  comprehend  the  editing  of  the  less  ancient  writings  of  the 
New  Testament,  die  interior  movements  of  the  Church  of  Asia 
Minor,  the  progress  of  the  hierarchy  and  discipline,  the  birth  of 
the  gnostic  sects,  the  definitive  constitution  of  a  dogmatic 
orthodoxy  and  of  the  episcopate.  When  once  the  last  writing 
of  the  New  Testament  shall  be  edited ;  when  once  the  authority 
of  the  Church  shall  be  established  and  armed  with  a  sort  of 
touchstone,  in  order  to  tell  error  from  truth ;  when  once  the  petty 
democratic  brotherhoods  of  the  early  apostolic  age  shall  have 
resigned  their  powers  into  the  hands  of  the  bishop,  then 
Christianity  will  be  complete.  The  child  will  still  grow ;  but  he 
has  all  his  limbs  :  it  is  no  longer  an  embryo  ;  he  is  in  possession 
of  all  his  essential  organs.  About  the  same  time,  however,  the 
last  ties  which  bound  the  Christian  Church  to  its  mother,  the 
Jewish  synagogue,  are  cut :  the  church  exists  as  an  independent 
being,  ar>d  has  no  longer  aught  for  a  mother  excepting  hatred. 
The  history  of  the  origins  of  Christianity  ends  here.  I  trust  that 
I  shall  be  able,  before  five  years,  to  finish  this  work  for  which  I 
have  desired  to  reserve  the  ripest  years  of  my  life.  It  will  have 
cost  me  many  a  sacrifice ;  above  all,  in  excluding  me  from 
teaching  in  the  College  of  France,  the  second  plan  which  I  had 
laid  out.  But  we  must  not  be  too  exacting;  perhaps  he  to 
whom  out  of  two  projects  it  has  been  permitted  to  realize  one, 
should  not  grumble  against  destiny,  especially  when  he  looks 
upon  those  projects  as  duties. 


48  SAINT  PAUL. 

CHAPTER  I. 

FIRST   JOURNEY   OF   ST.  PAUL. — MISSION   OF   CYPRUS. 

UPON  their  departure  from  Antioch,1  Paul  and  Barnabas, 
having  John-Mark  with  them,  went  to  Seleucia.  It  is  a  short 
day's  journey  from  Antioch  to  this  latter  city.  The  route 
follows  at  a  distance  the  right  bank  of  the  Orontes,  rising  and 
falling  on  the  last  undulations  of  the  mountains  of  Pieria,  and 
traversing  by  ford  the  numerous  streams  which  flow  down  from 
them.  On  all  sides  there  are  myrtle  underwood,  arbutus,  lau- 
rels, and  green  oaks  ;  rich  villages  are  suspended  in  the  sharply- 
cut  crests  of  the  mountains.  On  the  left,  the  plain  of  the 
Orontes  spreads  out  its  high  cultivation.  The  wooded  summits 
of  the  mountains  of  Daphne  shut  in  the  horizon  on  the  south. 
We  are  now  no  longer  in  Syria.2  This  is  a  classical,  pleasant, 
fertile,  civilized  land.  All  the  names  recall  the  powerful  Greek 
colony  which  gave  to  these  countries  so  great  an  historical 
importance  and  founded  a  centre  of  opposition,  at  times  violent, 
against  the  Semitic  spirit. 

Seleucia3  was  the  port  of  Antioch,  and  the  great  outlet  of 
Northern  Syria  toward  the  west.  The  city  was  partly  located 
in  the  plain  and  partly  on  the  abrupt  heights,  toward  the  angle 
formed  by  the  alluvia  of  the  Orontes  with  the  foot  of  the  Coryphe.4 
at  about  a  league  and  a  half  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
It  is  there  that  swarms  of  degraded  beings,  offspring  of  a  secular 
putrefaction,  embarked  every  year  to  go  and  fall  upon  Rome, 
and  infect  her.5  The  dominant  religion  was  that  of  Mount 
Casius,  a  handsome  summit,  of  a  regular  form,  situated  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Orontes,  and  with  which  legends  were  connect- 
ed.6 The  coast  is  inhospitable  and  stormy.  The  winds  of  the 
gulf,  falling  from  the  mountain  heights  and  taking  the  waves 
crosswise,  always  produces  a  high  sea  in  the  offing.  An  artificial 


v      SAINT  PAUL.  49 

basin,  communicating  with  the  sea  by  a  narrow  entrance,  shel- 
tered the  vessels  from  the  surge.  The  mole,  formed  of  huge 
blocks,  and  the  quays  are  still  in  existence,7  and  await  in  silence 
the  day  near  at  hand,  when  Seleucia  will  become  what  it  for- 
merly was,  one  of  the  great  termini  of  the  globe.8  In  waving 
his  hand  for  the  last  time  to  the  brethren  assembled  on  the  black 
sand  of  the  beach,  Paul  had  before  him  the  beautiful  semicircle 
formed  by  the  coast  at  the  mouth  of  the  Orontes ;  on  his  right, 
the  symmetrical  cone  of  Mount  Casius,  on  which,  three  hun- 
dred years  later,  was  to  arise  the  smoke  of  the  last  heathen  sac- 
rifice ; 9  on  his  left,  the  nigged  slopes  of  Mount  Coryphe ;  behind 
him,  the  snows  of  the  Taurus  and  the  coast  of  Cilicia,  which 
shuts  in  the  Gulf  of  Issus.  The  hour  was  solemn.  Although 
it  was  now  several  years  since  Christianity  had  left  its  birth- 
place, still  it  had  not  yet  crossed  the  limits  of  Syria.  Now,  the 
Jews  considered  all  Syria,  up  to  the  Amanus,  as  constituting  a 
portion  of  their  holy  land,  and  as  taking  part  in  its  prerogatives, 
ceremonies,  and  duties.10  This  is  the  very  moment  in  which 
Christianity  really  leaves  its  native  land  and  launches  out  into 
the  wide  world.  Paul  had  already  travelled  a  great  deal  in 
order  to  spread  the  name  of  Jesus.  He  had  been  a  Christian  for 
seven  years,  and  yet  his  ardent  conviction  had  not  slumbered 
for  a  single  day.  His  departure  from  Antioch  with  Barnabas, 
marked,  nevertheless,  a  decided  change  in  his  character ;  he  now 
entered  upon  that  apostolic  life,  in  which  he  displayed  an  une- 
qualled activity  and  an  unheard  of  degree  of  ardent  passion. 
Journeys  were  then  very  difficult  unless  performed  by  water; 
carriage  routes  and  vehicles  scarcely  existed.  For  this  reason, 
the  propagation  of  Christianity  took  place  along  the  coasts  and 
large  rivers.  Puteoli  and  Lyons  contained  Christians,  when  a 
number  of  the  neighboring  cities  of  the  cradle  of  Christianity 
had  not  heard  Jesus  spoken  of. 

Paul,  it  appears,  almost  always  went  on  foot,11  living  without 
doubt  upon  bread,  vegetables,  and  milk.     How  many  priva- 
tions, how  many  trials,  in  this  life  of  a  wandering  pedestrian ! 
5 


50  SAINT  PAUL. 

The  police  were  negligent  or  brutal.  Seven  times  was  Paul 
thrown  into  chains.12  Therefore,  when  he  could,  he  preferred 
to  go  by  water.  Of  a  truth,  when  calm,  these  seas  are  beauti- 
ful, but  suddenly  they  seem  as  if  struck  with  madness ;  to  push 
.  upon  the  beach,  to  cling  to  a  wreck,  is  then  the  only  course  to 
,take.  Peril  was  everywhere.  Says  the  hero  himself,  "I  have 
suffered  an  over-abundance  of  labors,  prisons,  stripes,  and 
deaths.  Of  the  Jews,  five  times  received  I  forty  stripes,13  save 
one.  Thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods;14  once  was  I  stoned;15 
thrice  I  suffered  shipwreck ; 16  a  night  and  a  day  I  have  been  in 
the  deep.17  In  journeyings  often,  in  perils  of  water,  in  perils  of 
robbers,  in  perils  by  mine  own  countrymen,  in  perils  by  the 
heathen,  in  perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils 
in  the  sea,  in  perils  among  false  brethren.  In  weariness  and 
painfulness,  in  watchings  often,  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in  fastings 
often,  in  cold  and  nakedness.  Such  has  been  my  life." 18  Paul 
wrote  that  in  56,  when  his  trials  were  far  from  terminating. 
For  nearly  ten  years  longer  was  he  to  lead  this  existence  which 
death  alone  could  worthily  crown. 

In  almost  all  his  journeyings,  Paul  had  companions,  but  he 
systematically  refused  himself  that  consolation  from  which  the 
other  apostles,  Peter  in  particular,  drew  so  much  aid  and  com- 
fort, —  I  mean  a  companion  in  his  apostolic  mission  and  labors.19 
His  aversion  to  marriage  grew  worse  from  a  sentiment  of  deli- 
cacy. He  did  not  wish  to  impose  upon  the  church  the  main- 
tenance of  two  persons.  Barnabas  followed  the  same  rule. 
Paul  frequently  refers  to  the  fact  that  he  costs  nothing  to  the 
churches.  He  finds  it  perfectly  just  that  the  apostle  should  be 
supported  by  the  community,  that  the  catechist  should  have 
everything  in  common  with  him  whom  he  catechises  ;20  but  he 
reduces  it  to  a  nicety;  he  does  not  wish  to  profit  by  his  just 
rights.21  His  constant  custom  was,  with  a  single  exception,  to 
owe  his  support  to  his  own  labor.  This  was,  in  Paul's  mind,  a 
question  of  morality  and  good  example ;  for  one  of  his  proverbs 
was,  that,  "He  who  would  not  work  should  not  eat."22  He 


SAINT  PAUL.  51 

frankly  made  it  a  question  of  personal  economy,  fearful  lest 
they  should  charge  him  with  extravagance,  and  exaggerated  his 
scruples  in  order  to  prevent  murmuring.  One  becomes  very 
particular  in  questions  of  money,  from  living  among  people  who 
give  it  so  much  thought.  Wherever  Paul  made  any  stay,  he  es- 
tablished himself,  and  resumed  his  trade  as  a  sailmaker.23  His 
exterior  life  resembled  that  of  an  artisan  who  goes  about  Eu- 
rope and  sows  around  him  the  ideas  with  which  he  is  penetrated. 
Such  a  style  of  life,  impossible  in  our  modern  society  for  any 
other  than  an  artisan,  was  easy  in  the  societies  in  which  religious 
brotherhoods  or  commercial  aristocracies  constitute  a  sort  of 
freemasonry.  The  life  of  Arabian  travellers,  of  Ibn-Batoutah, 
for  instance,  very  much  resembles  that  which  Paul  must  have 
led.  They  go  from  one  end  of  the  Mohammedan  world  to  the 
other,  establishing  themselves  in  every  large  city,  exercising 
there  the  calling  of  kahdi,  of  a  physician,  marrying  there,  find- 
ing everywhere  a  welcome,  and  chances  for  employment.  Ben- 
jamin Tudela,  and  the  other  Jewish  travellers  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  led  such  a  life  as  this,  going  from  Jewry  to  Jewry,  and 
entering  immediately  into  an  intimacy  with  their  host.  These 
Jewries  were  separate  districts,  often  closed  by  a  gate,  having  a 
religious  head.  In  the  centre  there  was  a  public  court,  and  gene- 
rally a  place  for  assembly  and  prayer.  The  relations  of  Jews 
to  each  other  in  our  day  still  present  something  of  the  same 
kind.  Wherever  Jewish  life  has  remained  strongly  organized, 
the  journeys  of  the  Israelites  take  place  from  ghetto  to  ghetto 
with  letters  of  recommendation.  What  occurs  at  Trieste,  Con- 
stantinople, and  Smyrna,  in  this  respect,  is  a  faithful  picture  of 
what  took  place  in  the  days  of  St.  Paul  at  Ephesus,  Thessa- 
lonica,  and  Rome.  The  new-comer  who  presents  himself  on 
Saturday  at  the  synagogue  is  observed,  surrounded,  questioned. 
They  ask  him  where  he  is  from,  who  his  father  is,  and  what  news 
he  brings.  In  almost  all  Asia  and  part  of  Africa,  the  Jews  have 
thus  quite  peculiar  facilities  for  travelling, — thanks  to  the  kind 
of  secret  society  they  constitute,  and  to  the  neutrality  which 


52  SAINT  PAUL. 

they  observe  in  the  domestic  struggles  of  the  different  countries. 
Benjamin  Tudela  arrives  from  the  end  of  the  world  without 
having  seen  aught  else  than  Jews,  Ibn-Batoutah  without  having 
seen  aught  else  than  Mussulmans. 

These  little  coteries  formed  excellent  vehicles  for  the  propa- 
gation of  doctrines.  They  were  well  acquainted  with  each  other ; 
they  watched  each  other  unceasingly;  nothing  was  further  re- 
moved from  the  common  liberty  of  our  modern  society  in  which 
men  come  so  little  into  contact  with  each  other.  Party  divisions 
become  religious  in  character  the  very  moment  politics  cease  to 
occupy  the  first  place  in  the  minds  of  the  community.  A  reli- 
gious question  arising  in  these  circles  of  the  faithful  Israelites  set 
everything  on  fire,  brought  about  schisms  and  quarrels.  Most 
frequently  the  religious  question  was  only  a  firebrand,  eagerly 
seized  by  antecedent  dislikes,  a  pretext  used  to  obtain  influence 
and  reputation.  The  establishment  of  Christianity  could  not 
be  explained  without  the  synagogues  with  which  the  costal  re- 
gion of  the  Mediterranean  was  already  covered  when  Paul  and 
the  other  apostles  set  out  upon  their  missions.  These  syna- 
gogues had  generally  no  distinctive  mark ;  they  were  houses  like 
the  others,  forming,  with  the  districts  of  which  they  constituted 
the  centre  and  the  link,  a  little  vicus  or  angiport.  A  distinctive 
characteristic  of  these  districts  was  the  absence  of  ornaments 
sculptured  after  living  objects,  which  forced  them  to  have  re- 
course to  awkward  and  false  means  of  decoration.  But  what 
pointed  out  the  Jewish  quarter  to  the  new-comer  from  Seleucia 
or  Cesarea  were  the  distinctions  of  race:  those  young  girls 
clothed  in  bright  colors, — white,  red,  and  green,  —  no  medium 
shades ;  those  matrons  with  calm  looks,  red  cheeks,  slight  em- 
bonpoint, and  kind,  motherly  eyes.  Having  arrived  and  being 
quickly  welcomed,  the  apostle  waited  for  Saturday.  He  then 
went  to  the  synagogue.  It  was  a  custom  when  a  stranger,  who 
appeared  intelligent  or  zealous,  presented  himself,  to  invite 
him  to  address  a  few  profitable  words  to  the  people.24  The 
apostle  profited  by  this  custom,  and  set  forth  a  Christian  thesis. 


SAINT  PAUL.  53 

Jesus  had  proceeded  exactly  in  this  way.25  Astonishment  was 
at  first  the  general  sentiment.  Opposition  was  not  apparent 
until  somewhat  later,  when  conversions  had  taken  place.  Then 
the  chiefs  of  the  synagogue  took  violent  measures.  Sometimes 
they  ordered  the  shameful  and  cruel  chastisement  inflicted  upon 
heretics  to  be  applied  to  the  apostle ;  at  other  times,  they  ap- 
pealed to  the  authorities  to  have  the  innovator  driven  out  or 
scourged.  The  apostle  only  preached  to  the  Gentiles  after  he 
had  concluded  with  the  Jews.  The  converted  heathen  were 
generally  less  numerous,  and  still  almost  all  the  converts  were 
made  in  those  classes  of  the  population  which  were  already  in 
contact  with  Judaism,  and  inclined  to  embrace  it. 

This  proselytism,  as  we  see,  was  confined  to  the  cities.  The 
first  Christian  apostles  did  not  preach  in  the  country.  The 
peasant  (pagamts)  was  the  last  to  turn  Christian.  The  local 
patois  which  the  Greek  had  not  rooted  up  in  the  country,  were 
partially  the  cause  of  it.  The  truth  is,  a  peasantry  scattered 
outside  of  the  cities  was  very  rare  in  the  countries  where  and  at 
the  period  in  which  Christianity  first  spread  itself.  The  organiza- 
tion of  apostolic  worship,  consisting  of  assemblies  (ccelesi&\  was 
essentially  municipal.  Islamism  is  also  pre-eminently  a  religion 
of  the  city.  It  is  not  complete  without  its  large  mosques,  its 
schools,  its  ulemas,  its  muezzins. 

The  gayety,  the  youthfulness  of  heart,  breathed  by  these 
evangelical  Odysseys  were  something  new,  original,  and  charm- 
ing. The  Acts  of  the  apostles,  an  expression  of  this  first 
transport  of  the  Christian  conscience,  compose  a  book  of  joy,26 
of  serene  ardor.  Since  the  Homeric  Poems,  no  work  had  been 
seen  full  of  such  fresh  sensations.  A  breeze  of  morning,  an 
odor  of  the  sea,  if  I  dare  express  it  so,  inspiring  something  joyful 
and  strong,  penetrates  the  whole  book,  and  makes  it  an  excellent 
compagnon  de  voyage,  the  exquisite  breviary  for  him  who  is 
searching  for  ancient  remains  on  the  seas  of  the  south.  This  is 
the  second  idyl  of  Christianity.  The  Lake  of  Tiberias  and  its 
fishing  barks  had  furnished  the  first.  Now,  a  more  powerful 


54  SAINT  PAUL. 

breeze,  aspirations  toward  more  distant  lands,  draw  us  out  into 
the  open  sea. 

The  first  point  at  which  the  three  missionaries  landed  was  the 
isle  of  Cyprus,  an  old  land  of  mixed  inhabitants,  in  which  the 
Grecian  and  Phenician  races,  at  first  placed  side  by  side,  had  at 
last  melted  into  one.  It  was  the  country  of  Barnabas,  and  this 
circumstance,  without  a  doubt,  went  toward  determining  the 
direction  first  taken  by  the  mission.  Cyprus  had  already 
received  the  seeds  of  the  Christian  faith.27  At  any  rate,  the  new 
religion  contained  several  Cypriotes  in  its  fold.28  The  number 
of  Jewries  there  was  very  considerable.29  But  we  must  not 
forget  that  this  whole  circle  of  Seleucia,  Tarsus,  and  Cyprus,  was 
very  small ;  that  the  little  group  of  Jews  located  at  these  points 
represents  about  the  same  number  as  the  parent  families  estab- 
lished at  St.  Brieuc,  St.  Malo,  and  Jersey.  Paul  and  Barnabas 
again  on  this  occasion  scarcely  left  the  country  which  was 
familiar  to  them.  The  apostolic  group  landed  in  the  ancient 
port  of  Salamis.30  They  crossed  the  whole  island  from  east  to 
west,  inclining  toward  the  south,  and  probably  following  the 
coast. 

It  was  the  most  Phenician  part  of  the  island ;  the  cities  of 
Citium,  Amathonte,  and  Paphos  were  there,  old  Semitic  centres, 
with  their  originality  still  apparent.  Paul  and  Barnabas  preached 
in  the  synagogues  of  the  Jews.  A  single  incident  of  this  voyage 
is  known  to  us.  It  took  place  at  Nea-Paphos,31  a  modern  city 
which  had  arisen  at  some  distance  from  the  old  city,  so  cele- 
brated for  its  worship  of  Venus  (Palaepaphos).32  Nea-Paphos 
was  at  this  moment  apparently  the  residence  of  the  Roman 
proconsul33  who  governed  the  isle  of  Cyprus.  This  proconsul 
was  Sergius  Paulus,  a  man  of  illustrious  birth,34  who  appeared,  as 
was  often  the  case  with  the  Romans,  to  have  allowed  himself  to 
be  amused  by  the  illusions  and  superstitious  beliefs  of  the 
country  to  which  hazard  had  brought  him.35  He  had  with  him 
a  Jew  named  Bar-jesus,  who  was  passing  himself  off  for  a 
sorcerer,  and  assuming  a  title  which  they  express  by  elim,  or 


SAINT  PAUL.  55 

"  wise."  M  There  were  produced  there  scenes  like  those  which 
took  place  at  Sebasta  between  the  apostles  and  Simon  the 
magician.37  Bar-jesus  opposed  Paul  and  Barnabas  violently. 
Tradition  pretended,  at  a  later  period,  that  the  affair  at  stake 
was  the  conversion  of  the  proconsul.  It  is  related  that  in  a 
public  discussion,  Paul,  to  overcome  his  adversary,  was  obliged 
to  strike  him  with  temporary  blindness,  and  that  the  proconsul, 
moved  by  this  miracle,  was  converted. 

The  conversion  of  a  Roman  of  this  order,  at  this  period,  is  a 
thing  absolutely  inadmissible.33  Paul  without  doubt  mistook 
the  marks  of  attention  shown  him  by  Sergius  for  faith ;  perhaps 
even  accepted  irony  for  kindness.  The  Orientals  do  not 
comprehend  irony.  Moreover,  their  maxim  is,  that  he  who  is 
not  against  me  is  with  me.  The  curiosity  manifested  by  Sergius 
Paulus  may  have  appeared  in  the  eyes  of  the  missionaries  to  be 
a  favorable  disposition.39  Like  many  Romans,  Paulus  might 
have  been  very  credulous ;  probably  the  illusions  to  which  it  is 
unfortunately  permitted  us  to  think  that  Paul  and  Barnabas 
sometimes  had  recourse,40  appeared  to  him  more  striking  and 
greater  than  those  of  Bar-jesus.  But  this  feeling  of  astonishment 
is  far  from  being  akin  to  a  conversion.  The  legend  seems  to 
have  assigned  to  Sergius  Paulus  the  reasoning  of  a  Jew  or  a 
Syrian.  The  Jew  and  the  Syrian  regard  the  miracle  as  the 
proof  of  a  doctrine  preached  by  the  thaumaturgist.  The  Roman, 
if  he  was  educated,  regarded  the  miracle  as  a  trick,  affording 
him  some  amusement ;  if  he  was  credulous  and  ignorant,  as  one 
of  those  things  which  happen  from  time  to  time.  But  the 
miracle  in  his  mind  proved  no  doctrine.  Profoundly  destitute 
of  religious  sentiment, 'the  Romans  did  not  imagine  that  a  dogma 
could  be  the  design  of  a  God  in  performing  a  miracle.41  The 
miracle  was  for  them  either  a  sort  of  fantastic  thing  rather  than 
natural  (the  idea  of  nature's  laws  was  unknown  to  them,  unless 
they  had  studied  Greek  philosophy),  or  an  act  revealing  the 
immediate  presence  of  God.42  If  Sergius  Paulus  had  really 
believed  in  Paul's  miracles,  he  would  have  reasoned  as  follows : 


56  SAINT  PAUL. 

"This  man  is  very  powerful,  perhaps  he  is  a  god,"  and  not 
"  The  doctrine  which  this  man  preaches  is  true." 43  At  any  rate, 
if  the  conversion  of  Sergius  Paulus  is  based  upon  such  slight 
motives,  we  believe  we  would  be  doing  Christianity  an  honor  in 
not  calling  it  a  conversion,  and  in  striking  out  Sergius  Paulus 
from  the  number  of  Christians. 

The  probability  is  that  he  had  pleasant  relations  with  the 
mission,  for  it  remembered  him  as  a  wise  and  good  man.44  The 
supposition  of  St.  Jerome,45  according  to  which  Paul  took  his 
name  of  Paul  from  this  Sergius  Paulus,  is  only  a  conjecture,  but 
we  cannot  say  that  it  is  one  entirely  destitute  of  probability.  It 
is  from  this  time  on,  that  the  author  of  the  Acts  always  substi- 
tutes the  name  of  Paul  for  that  of  Saul.46  Perhaps  the  apostle 
adopted  Sergius  Paulus  as  his  patron,  and  assumed  his  name  in 
token  of  his  dependence.  It  is  possible  also  that  Paul,  after 
the  example  of  a  large  number  of  Jews,  had  two  names,47  the  one 
Hebrew,  and  the  other  formed  by  rudely  Grecizing  or  Latinizing 
the  first  (just  as  Joseph  was  called  Hegesippus) ;  and  that  it 
was  only  from  the  time  in  which  he  entered  into  more  continued 
and  direct  relations  with  the  heathen  world  that  he  began  to 
use  solely  that  of  Paul.48 

We  do  not  know  how  long  the  mission  of  Cyprus  lasted. 
This  mission  evidently  had  no  great  importance,  since  Paul  does 
not  speak  of  it  in  his  epistles,  and  that  he  never  thought  to 
revisit  the  churches  which  he  had  established  in  the  island. 
Perhaps  he  regarded  them  as  belonging  to  Barnabas  rather  than 
to  him.  His  first  attempt  in  apostolic  journeying,  at  any  rate, 
decided  the  career  of  Paul.  From  this  time  he  assumes  the 
tone  of  master.49  Up  to  this,  he  had  been  subordinate  to 
Barnabas.  The  latter  had  been  longer  in  the  church  ;  he  had 
introduced  Paul,  and  pledged  himself  for  him.  They  were  surer 
of  him.  In  the  course  of  the  mission,  the  roles  are  changed. 
Paul's  talent  for  preaching  was  the  cause  of  the  office  as  chief 
speaker  devolving  entirely  upon  him.50  Henceforth  Barnabas 
will  only  be  a  companion  of  Paul's,  one  of  his  suited  With  an 


SAINT  PAUL.  57 

admirable  self-denial,  this  truly  holy  man  submitted  to  every- 
thing, leaving  all  to  be  done  by  his  fearless  friend,  whose 
superiority  he  acknowledged.  It  was  not  the  same  with  John- 
Mark.  Dissensions,  which  were  soon  to  lead  to  a  rupture, 
broke  out  between  him  and  Paul.62  We  have  no  knowledge  of 
the  cause.  Probably  the  principles  of  Paul  in  regard  to  the 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  shocked  the  Hierosolymitic  prejudices  of 
Mark,  and  appeared  to  him  in  contradiction  with  the  ideas  of 
Peter,  his  master.  Or  probably  this  ever  increasing  personality 
of  Paul  became  insupportable  to  those  who  saw  it  every  day 
growing  more  usurping  and  arrogant. 

It  is  not  likely,  however,  that  from  this  time  Paul  took  or 
allowed  himself  to  be  given  the  title  of  apostle.63  This  title  had 
only  been  borne  by  the  twelve  of  Jerusalem,  up  to  this ;  it  was 
not  regarded  as  transmissible ;  it  was  thought  that  Jesus  alone 
could  have  conferred  it.  Perhaps  Paul  even  at  this  time  had 
frequently  said  to  himself  that  he  too  had  received  it  directly 
from  Jesus  in  his  vision  on  the  journey  to  Damascus,54  but 
he  did  not  yet  openly  pretend  to  so  high  a  distinction.  The 
strong  provocations  of  his  enemies  were  needed  to  incite  him 
to  an  act  which  at  first  must  have  flashed  upon  him  as  a  deed 
of  rashness. 


58  SAINT  PAUL. 


CHAPTER   II. 

CONTINUATION  OF  THE  FIRST  JOURNEY  OF  ST.  PAUL. — MISSION 
OF   GALATIA. 

THE  mission,  satisfied  with  what  it  had  done  at  Cyprus, 
resolved  to  try  the  neighboring  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  Of.  the 
provinces  of  this  country,  Cilicia  alone  had  listened  to  the  new 
preaching  and  possessed  churches.1  The  geographical  region 
which  we  call  Asia  Minor  did  not  constitute  a  whole.  It  was 
composed  of  countries  entirely  distinct  in  respect  to  race  and 
social  condition.  The  western  portion  and  the  entire  coast  had, 
at  a  remote  period,  entered  into  the  great  vortex  of  the  general 
civilization,  of  which  the  Mediterranean  was  the  interior  sea. 
Since  the  decadence  of  Greece  and  Ptolemaic  Egypt,  these  coun- 
tries passed  for  the  most  lettered  ones  there  were,  or,  at  least,  for 
those  which  produced  the  largest  number  of  distinguished  men 
of  letters.2  The  province  of  Asia,  the  ancient  kingdom  of 
Pergamus  especially,  were,  as  is  said  nowadays,  at  the  head  of 
progress.  But  the  centre  of  the  peninsula  had  been  but  slightly 
disturbed.  Local  life  continued  there  as  in  ancient  times.3 
Several  of  the  native  idioms  had  not  yet  disappeared.4  The 
condition  of  the  public  roads  was  very  bad.5  All  these  countries 
had  in  truth  but  one  characteristic  in  common,  and  that,  bound- 
less credulity  and  a  great  inclination  to  superstition.  The 
ancient  creeds,  in  their  Hellenic  and  Roman  transformation, 
preserved  many  of  the  features  of  their  primitive  physiognomy.6 
Several  of  these  religions  still  enjoyed  extreme  popularity,  and 
possessed  a  certain  superiority  over  the  Greco-Roman  religions. 
No  country  produced  so  many  theurgists  and  theosophists. 
Apollonius  of  Tyana,  at  the  period  of  which  we  are  speaking, 
was  here  preparing  his  fantastic  destiny.  Alexander  of  Abono- 
ticus,  and  Peregrinus  Proteus  were  on  the  point  of  gaining  over 


SAINT  PAUL.  59 

provinces :  the  one  by  his  miracles,  his  prophecies,  and  his 
great  demonstrations  of  piety ;  and  the  other  by  his  profligate 
actions.7  Artemidorus  of  Ephesus,8  and  yElius  Aristides  °  offer 
the  strange  phenomenon  of  men  mixing  up  sincere  and  truly 
religious  sentiments  with  ridiculous  superstitions  and  charla- 
tanical  notions.  In  no  part  of  the  empire  was  the  pietistic 
reaction  wrhich  took  place  at  the  end  of  the  first  century  in 
favor  of  the  ancient  religions  and  against  positive  philosophy 
more  energetic.10  Asia  Minor  was,  next  to  Palestine,  the 
most  religious  country  in  the  world.  Entire  regions,  such  as 
Phrygia,  and  cities  such  as  Tyana,  Venases,  Comana,  Cesarea  of 
Cappadocia,  and  Nazianza,  were  as  if  given  up  to  mysticism.11 
In  several  places,  the  priests  were  still  almost  sovereigns.12 

As  to  political  life,  there  was  no  trace  of  it  left.  All  the 
cities,  as  if  in  emulation  of  one  another,  were  wild  in  their  un- 
bridled adulation  of  the  Caesars  and  the  Roman  functionaries.13 
The  title  "Friend  of  Caesar"  was  sought  for.14  The  cities, 
with  puerile  vanity,  disputed  for  the  pompous  titles  of  "  metrop- 
olis," "very  illustrious,"  conferred  by  imperial  edict.15  The 
country  had  been  brought  under  the  Roman  authority  without 
violent  conquest,16  at  least  without  national  resistance.  History 
does  not  mention  a  single  serious  political  uprising.  Brigandage 
and  anarchy,  which  for  a  long  while  had  had  impregnable  fort- 
resses in  Taurus,  Isauria,  and  Pisidia,  at  last  succumbed  to  the 
efforts  of  the  Romans  and  their  allies.17  Civilization  spread  with 
an  astonishing  rapidity.18  Traces  of  the  beneficent  action  of 
Claudius  and  of  the  popular  gratitude  toward  him  were,  in 
spite  of  certain  tumultuous  movements,19  everywhere20  met  with. 
It  was  not  as  in  Palestine,  where  old  institutions  and  old  customs 
offer  an  obstinate  resistance.  If  we  except  Isauria,  Pisidia, 
those  portions  of  Cilicia  which  still  had  a  shadow  of  indepen- 
dence, and  up  to  a  certain  point  Galatia,  the  country  had  lost 
every  national  sentiment.  It  never  had  any  dynasty  proper. 
The  old  provincial  individualities  of  Phrygia,  Lydia,  and  Caria 
had  long  ceased  to  exist  as  political  unities.  The  artificial  king- 


60  SAINT  PAUL. 

doms  of  Pergamus,  Bithynia,  and  Pontus  were  also  gone.  The 
entire  peninsula  had  accepted  the  Roman  rule  with  happiness.21 
It  can  be  added,  with  gratitude.  Never,  in  truth,  did  any 
domination  succeed  in  gaining  popular  acknowledgment  by  so 
many  acts  of  kindness.  "August  Providence"  was  truly  the 
tutelary  genius  of  the  country.22  The  worship  of  the  emperor 
Augustus,  in  particular,  and  of  Livia,  was  the  dominant  reli- 
gion of  Asia  Minor.23  The  temples  to  these  terrestrial  gods, 
always  associated  with  the  divinity  of  Rome,24  increased  in 
number  on  all  sides.25  The  priests  of  Augustus,  grouped  by 
provinces,  under  archpriests  (ofpjzfpfzs),  a  kind  of  metropolitans 
or  primates,  eventually  formed  a  clergy  analogous  to  what  the 
Christian  clergy  was  from  the  accession  of  Constantine.2^  The 
political  testament  of  Augustus  had  become  a  sort  of  sacred 
text,  a  public  lesson,  which  beautiful  monuments  were  made  to 
offer  to  the  gaze  of  all  and  to  render  eternal.27  The  cities  and 
tribes  vied  with  each  other  in  epithets  attesting  the  remembrance, 
which  they  still  cherished,  of  the  great  emperor.28  The  ancient 
Ninoe29  of  Caria  turned  his  back  on  his  old  Assyrian  creed  of 
Melita,  in  order  to  establish  his  connections  with  Caesar,  son  of 
Venus.30  There  was  servility  and  baseness  in  all  this;31  but 
there  was  above  all  the  sentiment  of  a  new  era,  of  a  happiness 
unenjoyed  by  them  up  to  this  time,  and  which,  in  truth,  was  to 
last  for  ages  without  any  shadow.  A  man  who  was  perhaps  a 
witness  of  the  conquest  of  his  country,  Dionysius  of  Halicar- 
nassus,  wrote  a  Roman  history  in  order  to  show  to  his  country- 
men the  excellence  of  the  Roman  people,  and  to  prove  to  them 
that  this  people  was  of  the  same  race  as  they,  and  that  their 
glory  was  in  part  theirs  too. 

After  Egypt  and  Cyrenaicus,  Asia  Minor  was  the  country 
with  the  most  Jews.  Here  they  formed  powerful  communities, 
jealous  of  their  rights,  given  to  asking  for  persecution,  having 
the  bad  habit  of  always  complaining  to  the  Roman  authority, 
and  of  having  recourse  to  protection  outside  of  the  city.  They 
had  succeeded  in  having  strong  guarantees  granted  them,  and 


SAINT  PAUL.  6 1 

they  were  in  reality  privileged  in  comparison  to  the  other  classes 
of  the  population.  Not  only  indeed  was  their  worship  free,  but 
several  of  the  common  burdens  which  they  pretended  to  be 
contrary  to  their  consciences  did  not  weigh  upon  them.  The 
Romans  were  very  favorable  to  them  in  these  provinces,  and 
almost  always  let  them  have  their  way  in  the  troubles  which  they 
had  with  the  people  of  the  country.32 

Having  embarked  at  Nea-Paphos,  the  three  missionaries  sailed 
toward  the  mouth  of  the  Cestrus  in  Pamphylia,  and,  going  up 
the  river  for  a  distance  of  two  or  three  leagues,33  arrived  off 
Perga,  a  large  and  flourishing  city,34  the  centre  of  the  ancient 
worship  of  Diana,  almost  as  celebrated  as  that  of  Ephesus.35 
This  worship  bore  a  strong  resemblance  to  that  of  Paphos.36  It 
is  not  impossible  that  the  relations  of  the  two  cities,  establishing 
between  them  a  line  of  ordinary  navigation,  should  have  deter- 
mined the  route  of  the  apostles.  In  general,  the  two  parallel 
coasts  of  Cyprus  and  Asia  Minor  appear  to  correspond  to 
each  other,  on  both  sides.37  There  were  in  both  portions  Semitic 
populations,  a  medley  of  different  elements,  who  had  lost  a  great 
deal  of  their  primitive  character.38 

It  was  at  Perga  that  the  rupture  occurred  between  Paul  and 
John-Mark.  John-Mark  left  the  mission  and  returned  to  Jeru- 
salem. This  circumstance  was  doubtless  very  unpleasant  to 
Barnabas,  for  John-Mark  was  a  relative  of  his.39  But  Barnabas, 
accustomed  to  take  everything  from  his  imperious  companion, 
did  not  abandon  the  grand  plan  of  penetrating  into  Asia  Minor. 
The  two  apostles,  striking  into  the  country,  and  journeying 
toward  the  north,  enter  the  basins  of  the  Cestrus  and  the 
Eurymedon,  across  Pamphylia  and  Pisidia,  and  advance  to 
mountainous  Phrygia.  This  must  have  been  a  difficult  and 
dangerous  journey.40  This  labyrinth  of  rugged  mountains  was 
held  by  barbarous  people,  given  to  brigandage,  and  who  had 
scarcely  been  subdued  by  the  Romans.41  Paul,  accustomed  to 
the  aspect  of  Syria,  must  have  been  surprised  at  these  pictu- 
resque and  romantic  Alpine  regions,  with  their  lakes  and  deep 
6 


62  SAINT  PAUL, 

valleys,  which  might  be  compared  to  the  environs  of  Lake 
Maggiore  and  the  Ticino.42  At  first  thought,  we  are  surprised 
at  the  singular  route  of  the  apostles,  a  route  which  led  them 
away  from  the  grand  centres  and  most  frequented  roads. 
Without  doubt,  upon  this  occasion,  too,  they  followed  the  trail 
of  Jewish  emigrations.  Pisidia  and  Lycaonia  had  cities  such 
as  Antioch  of  Pisidia,  and  Iconium,  in  which  large  Jewish 
colonies  had  established  themselves.  These  Jews  here  made 
many  conversions.43  Far  removed  from  Jerusalem,  and  out  of  the 
influence  of  Palestinian  fanaticism,  they  lived  in  harmony  with 
the  heathen.44  The  latter  went  to  the  synagogue.45  Mixed  mar- 
riages were  not  at  all  rare.46  Paul  had  been  able  to  learn  at 
Tarsus  what  advantageous  conditions  the  new  faith  would  find 
there  to  establish  itself  and  bear  fruit.  Derbe  and  Lystra  are 
not  very  far  from  Tarsus.  Paul's  family  may  have  had  con- 
nections in  this  neighborhood ;  or,  at  least,  been  well  informed 
concerning  these  out-of-the-way  districts. 

Having  left  Perga,  the  two  apostles,  after  a  journey  of  about 
forty  leagues,  arrived  at  Antioch  of  Pisidia,  or  Antioch-Cesarea,47 
in  the  heart  of  the  high  table-lands  of  the  peninsula.48  This 
Antioch  had  remained  a  city  of  medium  importance  up  to  the 
time  in  which  it  had  been  raised  by  Augustus  to  the  dignity  of  a 
Roman  colony,  with  Italic  privileges.50  It  then  became  very 
considerable,  and  partly  changed  its  character.  Up  to  that  time 
it  had  been  a  city  of  priests,  apparently  resembling  Comana. 
The  temple,  with  its  legions  of  hierodules  and  rich  domains, 
which  had  rendered  the  city  famous,  was  suppressed  by  the 
Romans  (25  B.  c.)51  But  this  great  religious  establishment,  as 
is  often  the  case,  left  dee*£>  traces  in  the  manners  of  the  people. 
Without  a  doubt  it  was  in  the  wake  of  the  Roman  colony  that 
the  Jews  had  been  attracted  to  Antioch  of  Pisidia. 

According  to  their  custom,  the  two  apostles  went  to  the 
synagogue  on  Saturday.  After  the  reading  of  the  Law  and  the 
Prophets,  the  chiefs,  seeing  two  strangers  of  apparently  pious 
mien,  sent  to  ask  them  if  they  had  any  word  of  exhortation  to 


SAINT  PAUL.  63 

say  to  the  people.  Paul  spoke,  set  forth  the  mystery  of  Jesus, 
his  death,  his  resurrection.  The  impression  was  vivid ;  they 
begged  them  to  recommence  their  preaching  on  the  following 
Saturday.  A  large  crowd  of  Jews  and  proselytes  followed  them 
on  leaving  the  synagogue,  and  during  the  whole  week  Paul 
and  Barnabas  did  not  cease  to  exercise  an  active  ministry. 
The  heathen  population  heard  this  incident  spoken  of,  and  its 
curiosity  was  excited  by  it 

The  following  Saturday  the  whole  city  was  gathered  together 
at  the  synagogue,  but  the  sentiments  of  the  orthodox  party  had 
undergone  a  great  change.  -They  regretted  having  shown  such 
tolerance  on  the  preceding  Saturday.  This  eager  multitude 
provoked  the  chiefs.  A  dispute,  mingled  with  hard  words,  arose. 
Paul  and  Barnabas  sustained  the  storm  bravely;  nevertheless, 
they  could  not  speak  in  the  synagogue.  They  retired,  with  this 
protest  to  the  Jews:  "It  was  necessary  that  the  word  of  God 
should  first  have  been  spoken  to  you  :  but  seeing  ye  put  it  from 
you,  and  judge  yourselves  unworthy  of  everlasting  life,  lo,  we  turn 
to  the  Gentiles."  From  this  time  on,  in  truth,52  Paul  strengthened 
himself  more  and  more  in  the  opinion  that  the  future  was  not 
to  the  Jews  but  to  the  Gentiles  ;  that  preaching  upon  this  virgin 
soil  would  bear  far  better  fruits  ;  that  God  had  specially  chosen 
him  to  be  the  apostle  of  the  nations  to  announce  the  glad  tidings 
to  the  very  ends  of  the  world.  It  was  a  peculiar  characteristic 
of  his  great  soul  to  grow  great  and  expand  without  ceasing.  I 
know  of  no  other  than  the  soul  of  Alexander  which  had  this 
gift  of  boundless  vigor,  this  unlimited  capacity  of  will  and  action. 

The  minds  of  the  heathen  population  were  favorably  disposed. 
Several  of  them  were  converted,  and  became  at  the  start  perfect 
Christians.  We  shall  see  the  same  thing  take  place  at  Philippi, 
at  Alexandria,  Troas,  and  in  general  throughout  the  Roman 
colonies.  The  inclination  which  these  good  and  religious  people 
had  experienced  towarfl  a  refined  worship,  an  inclination  which 
had  up  to  this  time  manifested  itself  by  conversions  to  Judaism, 
will  now  become  apparent  through  conversions  to  Christianity. 


64  SAINT  PAUL. 

In  spite  of  their  strange  religion,  and  perhaps  through  a  reaction 
against  this  religion,  the  people  of  Antioch,  as  in  general  those 
of  Phrygia,  had  a  sort  of  penchant  toward  monotheism.53  The 
new  religion,  not  exacting  circumcision  nor  calling  for  certain 
mean  observances,  was  much  better  constituted  than  Judaism 
to  attract  the  pious  heathens ;  therefore,  the  preference  quickly 
inclined  to  its  side.  These  out-of-the-way  provinces,  lost  among 
the  mountains,  slightly  subjected  to  authority,  without  historical 
reputation,  or  of  any  importance  whatever,  were  an  excellent 
terrain  of  the  faith.  Quite  a  numerous  church  was  established. 
Antioch  of  Pisidia  became  a  centrte  of  Propaganda,  from  which 
the  doctrine  diverged  in  all  directions. 

The  success  of  the  new  preaching  among  the  heathen  suc- 
ceeded in  arousing  the  fury  of  the  Jews.  A  pious  intrigue  was 
formed  against  the  missionaries.  Several  of  the  most  respec- 
table ladies  of  the  city  had  embraced  Judaism.  The  orthodox 
Jews  persuaded  them  to  speak  to  their  husbands,  in  order  to 
obtain  the  expulsion  of  Paul  and  Barnabas.  The  two  apostles, 
in  truth,  were  banished  by  municipal  decree  from  the  city  and 
territory  of  Antioch  of  Pisidia.54 

According  to  apostolic  usage,  they  shook  off  the  dust  of  their 
feet  against  them.55  Then  they  turned  their  steps  toward 
Lycaonia,  and  reached,  after  a  journey  of  about  five  days 
through  a  fertile  country,56  the  city  of  Jconium.  Lycaonia  was, 
like  Pisidia,  an  unknown  country  of  little  consideration,  and  one 
which  had  preserved  its  ancient  customs.  Patriotism  still 
existed  there,57  the  morals  were  pure,  and  the  minds  dignified 
and  upright.58  Iconium  was  a  city  of  old  religions  and  old 
traditions,59 — traditions  which,  in  a  great  many  respects,  even 
bear  some  resemblance  to  those  of  the  Jews.60  The  city,  up  to 
that  time  very  small,61  had  just  received,  or  was  on  the  eve  of 
receiving  from  Claudius,  when  Paul  arrived  there,  the  title  of 
colony.  A  high  Roman  functionary,  Lucius  Pupius  Praesens, 
procurator  of  Galatia,  had  himself  called  the  second  founder 


SAINT  PAUL.  65 

of  it,  and  the  city  changed  its  ancient  name  for  that  of  Claudia 
or  Claudiconium* 

The  Jews,  doubtless  on  account  of  this  circumstance,  were 
very  numerous63  there,  and  had  gained  many  partisans.  Paul 
and  Barnabas  preached  in  the  synagogue.  A  church  was  or- 
ganized. The  missionaries  made  Iconium  the  second  centre  of 
a  very  active  apostolate,  and  remained  there  a  long  while.64  It 
was  there,  that,  according  to  a  very  popular  romance,  dating 
from  the  first  half  of  the  third  century,65  Paul  is  said  to  have  won 
the  most  beautiful  of  his  disciples,  the  faithful  and  love-inspiring 
Thecla.66  This  history  is  not  based  upon  any  reality.  The 
question  is  asked,  nevertheless,  if  it  was  through  arbitrary 
choice  that  the  priest  of  Asia,  author  of  the  romance,  chose  the 
city  of  Iconium  for  the  scene  of  his  story.  In  our  day, 
the  Greek  women  of  this  country  are  still  celebrated  for  their 
seductive  charms,  and  present  phenomena  of  endemic  hysteria, 
attributed  by  physicians  to  the  climate.67  However  it  may  be, 
the  success  of  the  apostles  was  very  great.  Many  of  the  Jews 
were  converted,68  but  the  apostles  made  still  more  proselytes 
outside  of  the  synagogue.69  In  the  midst  of  those  sympathetic 
people  who  were  no  longer  satisfied  with  the  old  creeds,  Paul's 
beautiful  system  of  morality  delighted  the  good  Lycaonians.70 
Their  credulity,  moreover,  disposed  them  to  receive  with  ad- 
miration what  they  considered  as  miracles  and  supernatural 
manifestations  of  the  Spirit.71 

The  storm  which  had  forced  the  preachers  to  leave  Antioch 
of  Pisidia  broke  out  again  at  Iconium.  The  orthodox  Jews 
strove  to  arouse  the  heathen  population  against  the  mission- 
aries. The  city  was  divided  into  two  parties.  There  was  a 
disturbance.  They  talked  of  stoning  the  two  apostles.  The 
latter  fled,  and  left  the  capital  of  Lycaonia.72 

Iconium  is  situated  near  a  lake,  at  the  entrance  to  the  great 

steppe  which  forms  the  centre  of  Asia  Minor,  and  which  has,  up 

to  this  time,  rebelled  against  all  civilization.     The  road  toward 

Galatia,  properly  speaking,  and  Cappadocia  was  closed.     Paul 

6* 


66  SAINT  PAUL. 

and  Barnabas  set  out  to  skirt  the  foot  of  the  arid  mountains 
which  form  a  semicircle  around  the  plain  of  the  south  side. 
These  mountains  are  nothing  else  than  the  northern  face  of  the 
Taurus,  but  the  central  plain  being  very  high  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  the  Taurus  attains  on  this  side  a  medium  elevation.  The 
country  is  cold,  and  without  variety ;  the  soil,  sometimes  marshy, 
sometimes  sandy,  or  cracked  open  by  the  heat,  looks  sad  and 
dreary.  The  mass  of  the  extinct  volcano,  now  called  Kara- 
dagh,73  alone  appears,  like  an  island  in  the  midst  of  this  bound- 
less sea.74 

Two  little  obscure  towns,  whose  situation  we  are  ignorant  of, 
then  became  the  scene  of  the  apostle's  action.  These  two 
little  towns  were  named  Lystra  and  Derbe.75  Lost  in  the  val- 
leys of  the  Karadagh,  or  in  the  midst  of  poor  inhabitants,  occu- 
pied with  the  rearing  of  flocks,  at  the  foot  of  one  of  the  most 
obstinate  strongholds  of  robbers  known  to  antiquity,76  these  two 
towns  had  remained  entirely  provincial.  A  civilized  Roman 
here  believed  himself  among  savages.77  Lycaonian  was  the 
language  of  the  country.78  There  were  very  few  Jews  there.79 
Claudius,  by  the  establishment  of  colonies  in  the  inaccessible 
regions  of  the  Taurus,80  gave  to  these  disowned  districts  more 
order  and  security  than  they  had  ever  possessed. 

Lystra  was  the  first  to  receive  the  Gospel.81  A  singular  in- 
cident took  place  there.  In  the  early  part  of  the  apostle's 
sojourn  in  the  city,  the  report  was  spread  that  Paul  had  miracu- 
lously healed  a  lame  man.  These  credulous  and  wonder-loving 
people  immediately  indulged  in  a  strange  freak  of  imagination. 
They  thought  that  the  apostles  were  two  divinities,  who  had 
assumed  a  human  form  in  order  to  visit  the  mortals.  The 
belief  in  these  descents  of  the  gods  was  widely  spread,  above  all 
in  Asia  Minor.  The  life  of  Apollonius  of  Tyana  was  soon  to 
be  regarded  as  the  journey  of  a  god  on  earth.82  Tyana  is  not 
far  from  Derbe.  As  an  old  Phrygian  tradition,  consecrated  by 
a  temple,  an  annual  festivity,  and  by  interesting  stories,83  pic- 
tured Jupiter  travelling  this  way  with  Mercury,  they  applied 


SAINT  PAUL.  67 

the  names  of  these  two  divine  travellers  to  the  apostles.  Barna- 
bas, who  was  taller  than  Paul,  they  called  Jupiter;  and  Paul, 
who  was  the  chief  speaker,  they  called  Mercury.  There  was  a 
temple  of  Jupiter's"  just  outside  of  the  city  gate.  The  priest, 
informed  that  a  divine  manifestation  had  taken  place,  began  to 
prepare  a  sacrifice,  the  bulls  had  already  been  led  up,  and  the 
garlands  brought  before  the  pediment  of  the  temple,85  whim 
Barnabas  and  Paul  arrived,  rending  their  clothes,  and  affirming 
that  they  are  only  men.  These  heathen  races,  as  we  have 
already  observed,  attached  quite  a  different  meaning  to  a 
miracle  than  what  the  Jews  do.  The  latter  considered  a  mira- 
cle a  doctrine  of  argument ;  the  former  held  it  to  be  the  imme- 
diate revelation  of  a  god.  The  effort  of  the  apostles,  when  they 
preached  to  a  people  of  this  kind,  was  rather  to  preach  God 
than  Jesus.  Their  preaching  became  purely  Jewish,  or  rather 
Deistical.86  Jews,  inclined  to  proselytism,  have  always  felt  that 
it  is  the  monotheistic  basis  of  their  religion,  which  alone  is 
suitable  for  the  universality  of  mankind,  and  that  all  the  rest, 
Mosaic  institutions,  Messianic  ideas,  and  so  forth,  form,  as  a 
second  degree  of  beliefs  constituting  the  particular  appurtenance 
of  the  children  of  Israel,  a  sort  of  family  inheritance,  which 
is  not  transmissible. 

As  Lystra  had  few  or  no  Jews  of  Palestinian  origin,  the  life 
of  the  apostle  there  was  for  a  long  while  very  tranquil.  One 
family  of  this  city  was  the  centre  and  the  school  of  the  greatest 
piety.  It  was  composed  of  a  grandmother,  named  Lois,  of  a 
mother  named  Eunice,87  and  of  a  young  son  named  Timothy.88 
The  two  women  doubtless  professed  the  Jewish  religion,  as 
proselytes.  Eunice  had  been  married  to  a  heathen,89  who 
probably  was  dead  when  Paul  and  Barnabas  arrived.  Timothy 
was  growing  up,  in  the  care  of  these  two  women,  a  student  in 
sacred  letters,  and  with  sentiments  of  the  liveliest  devotion ;  but, 
as  it  frequently  happens  with  the  most  pious  proselytes,  his 
parents  did  not  have  him  circumcised.90  Paul  converted  the 
two  women.  Timothy,  who  may  have  been  about  fifteen  years 


68  SAINT  PAUL. 

old,  was  initiated  into  the  Christian  faith  by  his  mother  and  his 
grandmother. 

The  report  of  these  conversions  spread  to  Iconium,  and  to 
Antioch  of  Pisidia,  and  reawakened  the  anger  of  the  Jews  in 
those  two  cities.  They  sent  emissaries  to  Lystra,  who  pro- 
voked a  disturbance.  Paul  was  seized  by  the  fanatics,  dragged 
out  of  the  city,  stoned,  and  left  for  dead.91  The  disciples  went 
to  his  assistance  ;  his  wounds  were  not  serious ;  he  returned  to 
the  city,  probably  in  the  night,  and  the  next  day  departed  with 
Barnabas  for  Derbe. 

They  made  another  long  stay  there,  and  gained  many  souls. 
The  two  churches  of  Lystra  and  Derbe  were  the  first  two 
churches,  composed  almost  entirely  of  heathens.  We  conceive 
what  difference  there  must  have  been  between  such  churches 
and  those  of  Palestine,  established  in  the  bosom  of  pure 
Judaism ;  or  even  that  of  Antioch,  formed  around  Jewish  influ- 
ences, and  in  a  society  already  Judaized.  Here,  there  were 
entirely  new  subjects,  very  religious,  and  good  provincials,  but 
of  a  turn  of  imagination  very  different  from  that  of  the  Syrians. 
Up  to  that  time,  Christian  preaching  had  only  borne  fruit  in  large 
cities,  where  there  was  found  a  numerous  population  working 
at  trades.  Henceforth,  there  were  churches  in  small  towns. 
Neither  Iconium,  nor  Lystra,  nor  Derbe  was  considerable 
enough  to  constitute  a  mother  church,  after  the  manner  of 
Corinth  or  Ephesus.  Paul  was  accustomed  to  designate  his 
Christians  of  Lycaonia  by  the  name  of  the  province  which  they 
inhabited.  Now,  this  province  was  Galatia,  in  the  administra- 
tive sense  which  the  Romans  had  attached  to  this  word. 

In  fact,  the  Roman  province  of  Galatia  was  far  from  con- 
taining only  this  country,  peopled  by  Gallic  adventurers,  and 
having  the  city  of  Ancyra  for  its  centre.92  It  was  an  artificial 
agglomeration,  corresponding  to  the  temporary  reunion  of  pro- 
vinces which  took  place  under  the  hand  of  the  Galatian  king, 
Amyntas.  This  personage,  after  the  battle  of  Philippi,  and  the 
death  of  Dejotara,  received  Pisidia93  from  Antoninus,  and  after- 


SAINT  PAUL.  69 

ward  Galatia,  with  a  portion  of  Lycaonia  and  Pamphylia.94  He 
was  confirmed  by  Augustus  in  this  possession.95  At  the  end  of 
his  reign  (25  B.  c.)  Amyntas,  besides  Galatia,  properly  speak- 
ing, possessed  Lycaonia  and  Isauria  as  far  as  Derbe,  inclu- 
sively, the  south-east  and  east  of  Phrygia,  with  the  cities  of 
Antioch  and  Apollonia,  Pisidia,  and  Cilicia-Trachea.96  All  these 
countries,  at  his  death,  formed  a  single  Roman  province,97  with 
the  exception  of  Cilicia-Trachea98  and  the  Pamphylian  cities.99 
The  province  which  bore  the  name  of  Galatia  in  the  official 
nomenclature,  at  least,  under  the  first  Caesars,  then  certainly 
comprised:  ist,  Galatia,  properly  speaking;  2d,  Lycaonia;100 
3d,  Pisidia;101  4th,  Isauria;102  and  5th,  Mountainous  Phrygia, 
with  its  cities  of  Apollonia  and  Antioch.103  This  state  of  things 
lasted  a  long  while,104  and  Ancyra  was  the  capital  of  this  great 
ensemble,  comprising  almost  all  of  central  Asia  Minor.105  The 
Romans  were  not  averse,  in  order  to  destroy  nationalities  and 
root  out  recollections,  to  this  changing  of  the  old  geographical 
preferences,  and  creation  of  arbitrary  administrative  groups 
analogous  to  our  departments.106 

Paul  was  accustomed  to  make  use  of  the  administrative 
name,107  in  order  to  designate  each  country.  The  country 
'  which  he  had  evangelized,  from  Antioch  of  Pisidia  to  Derbe,  he 
called  "Galatia,"  and  the  Christians  of  this  country  "Gala- 
tians."108  This  name  remained  very  dear  to  him.  The  churches 
of  Galatia  were  reckoned  among  those  for  which  the  apostle 
had  most  tenderness,  and  who  had  for  him  the  most  personal 
attachment.  The  recollection  of  the  friendship  and  devotion 
which  he  had  met  with  among  these  kind  souls  was  one  of  the 
strongest  impressions  of  his  apostolic  life.109  Several  circum- 
stances redoubled  the  vividness  of  these  recollections.  It 
appears  that,  during  the  sojourn  in  Galatia,  the  apostle  was 
subject  to  fits  of  weakness,  or  sickness,  which  attacked  him 
frequently.  The  care  and  attention  went  to  his  heart.110  The 
persecutions  which  they  had  to  suffer  together111  succeeded  in 
creating  a  strong  bond  between  them.  This  little  Lycaonian 


70  SAINT  PAUL. 

centre  had,  for  this  reason,  a  great  deal  of  importance.  St. 
Paul  loved  to  revert  to  it  as  his  first  creation.  It  was  from  there 
that  he  at  a  later  day  drew  two  of  his  most  faithful  companions, 
Timothy  and  Caius.112 

It  was  now  four  or  five  years  that  he  had  thus  been  con- 
fining himself  to  quite  a  limited  circle.  He  thought  then  less 
of  those  long  and  rapid  journeys,  which  towards  the  end  of  his 
life  became  a  sort  of  passion  for  him,  than  of  firmly  establishing 
churches,  which  might  serve  him  as  points  of  support.  We  do 
not  know  whether,  during  this  time,  he  had  connections  with 
the  church  of  Antioch,  from  which  he  had  received  his  mission. 
A  desire  of  revisiting  this  mother  church  was  awakened  within 
him.  He  resolved  to  make  a  journey  thither,  and  took  the 
same  route  back  which  he  had  already  passed  over.  The  two 
missionaries  visited  Lystra,  Iconium,  and  Antioch  of  Pisidia,  for 
the  second  time.  They  made  new  sojourns  in  these  cities, 
strengthening  the  faithful  in  their  faith,  exhorting  them  to  perse- 
verance and  patience,  and  telling  them  that  it  is  through  tribu- 
lation that  we  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  constitu- 
tion of-  these  out-of-the-way  churches  was,  moreover,  very 
simple.  The  apostles  chose  elders  in  each  one  of  them,  who 
were,  after  their  departure,  the  depositaries  of  their  authority. 
The  ceremony  of  parting  was  touching.  There  were  fastings 
and  prayers,  after  which  the  apostles  recommended  the  faithful 
to  God,  and  set  out. 

From  Antioch  of  Pisidia,  the  missionaries  again  visited  Perga. 
It  appears  that  their  mission  there  at  this  time  was  crowned 
with  success.113  The  cities  of  processions,  pilgrimages,  and 
great  annual  panegyres,  were  frequently  favorable  to  the  preach- 
ing of  the  apostles.  From  Perga,  they  went  in  one  day  to 
Attalia,  the  great  port  of  Pamphylia.114  From  there  they  em- 
barked for  Seleucia,  and  then  re-entered  the  great  Antioch, 
where,  five  years  before,  they  had  been  given  up  to  the  grace 
of  God. 

The  extent  of  this  mission  had  been  very  small.     It  had  em- 


SAINT  PAUL.  71 

braced  the  isle  of  Cyprus,  longitudinally  speaking,  and  in  Asia 
Minor,  an  irregular  line  of  about  a  hundred  leagues.  This  was 
the  first  instance  of  an  apostolic  journey  of  this  kind.  Nothing 
was  organized.  Paul  and  Barnabas  had  to  struggle  with  great 
exterior  difficulties.  We  must  not  look  upon  these  journeys 
like  those  of  a  Francis  Xavier,  or  a  Livingstone,  supported  by 
rich  associations.  The  apostles  much  more  resembled  socialistic 
artisans,  spreading  their  ideas  from  inn  to  inn,  than  mission- 
aries of  modern  times.  Their  trade  had  remained  a  necessity 
to  them.  They  were  obliged  to  halt  in  order  to  exercise  it,  and 
to  conform  themselves  to  the  localities  where  they  found  work. 
Hence  they  met  with  delays,  stagnant  seasons,  and  a  thousand 
losses  of  time.  In  spite  of  the  enormous  obstacles,  the  general 
results  of  this  first  mission  were  very  great.  When  Paul  set  out 
to  return  to  Antioch,  Gentile  churches  were  in  existence.  The 
great  step  had  been  taken.  All  previous  action  in  this  direc- 
tion had  produced  no  decisive  results.  Up  to  this  time,  they 
had  been  enabled  to  reply  more  or  less  plausibly  to  the  true 
Jews  of  Jerusalem,  who  sustained  that  circumcision  was  the 
obligatory  preliminary  of  the  Christian  faith.  But  now,  the 
question  was  met  in  a  direct  way.  Another  fact  of  the  greatest 
importance  was  also  brought  to  light.  This  was  the  admirable 
readiness  that  could  be  found  with  certain  races  attached  to  the 
mythological  worship  to  receive  the  Gospel.  Evidently,  the  doc- 
trine of  Jesus  was  going  to  profit  by  the  sort  of  charm  which 
Judaism  had  up  to  that  time  exercised  upon  the  pious  heathen. 
Asia  Minor,  above  all,  was  designed  to  become  the  second 
Christian  land.  After  the  disasters  which  are  soon  going  to  fall 
upon  the  churches  of  Palestine,  it  will  be  the  principal  home  of 
the  new  faith,  the  scene  of  its  most  important  transformations. 


72  SAINT  PAUL. 

CHAPTER  III. 

FIRST  TROUBLE   ARISING   FROM    CIRCUMCISION. 

THE  return  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  was  hailed  in  the  church 
of  Antioch  with  a  cry  of  joy.  The  entire  street  of  Singon1  wore 
a  festive  look.  The  church  assembled  together.  The  two  mis- 
sionaries related  their  adventures  and  the  things  that  God  had 
done  for  them.  "  God  himself,"  they  said,  "  has  opened  the 
gate  of  faith  to  the  Gentiles."  They  spoke  of  the  churches  of 
Galatia,  almost  all  composed  of  the  heathen.  The  church  of 
Antioch  which  a  long  time  before  had,  for  its  part,  recognized 
the  rights  of  the  Gentiles  to  baptism,  approved  of  their  con- 
duct. The  apostles  remained  here  several  months,  resting  from 
their  labors  and  strengthening  themselves  at  this  source  of  apos- 
tolic spirit.2  It  was  then,  it  appears,  that  Paul  converted  and 
took  for  disciple,  companion,  and  coadjutor,3  a  young  man 
named  Titus,4  uncircumcised,  and  born  of  heathen  parents,  and 
whom  we  shall  henceforth  see  with  the  apostle. 

A  grave  dissension,  which  came  near  destroying  the  work  of 
Jesus,  broke  out  about  this  time,  and  placed  the  young  church 
on  the  very  brink  of  destruction.  This  dissension  partook  of 
the  very  essence  of  the  situation.  It  was  inevitable.  It  was  a 
crisis  which  the  new  religion  could  not  avoid  passing  through. 

Jesus,  in  carrying  religion  to  the  very  highest  summits  to 
which  it  has  ever  been  borne,  had  not  plainly  stated  whether  it 
was  his  intention  to  remain  Jew  or  not.  He  had  not  designated 
the  portion  of  Judaism  which  he  wished  to  preserve.  At  times, 
he  declared  that  he  had  come  to  confirm  the  law  of  Moses ;  at 
others,  to  supplant  it.  To  tell  the  truth,  this  was,  for  a  great  poet 
like  him,  an  insignificant  retail.  The  moment  we  know  the 
heavenly  Father,  him  whom  we  adore  in  mind  and  truth,  we  no 
longer  belong  to  any  sect,  any  particular  religion,  or  school. 
We  belong  to  the  true  religion.  All  practices  become  indifferent. 
We  do  not  despise  them,  for  they  are  signs  which  have  been,  or 


SAINT  PAUL.  73 

are  respectable,  but  we  cease  to  ascribe  any  intrinsic  virtue  to 
them.  Circumcision,  baptism,  passover,  unleavened  bread,  sacri- 
fices, —  all  these  become  equally  secondary.  They  are  no  longer 
thought  of.  But  no  uncircumcised  took  sides  frankly  with 
Jesus,  while  living.  The  question  had  no  opportunity  to  propose 
itself.  Like  all  men  of  genius,  Jesus  only  thought  of  the  soul. 
The  most  important  practical  questions,  those  which  appeared 
to  be  the  main  ones  to  inferior  minds,  those  which  caused  most 
torment  to  men  of  application,  had  no  existence  in  his  thoughts. 

At  his  death,  the  disorder  had  been  general.  Left  to  them- 
selves, deprived  of  him  who  had  been  a  complete  living  theo- 
logy for  them,  they  returned  to  the  practices  of  Jewish  piety. 
They  were  people  pious  in  the  highest  degree.  Now  the  piety 
of  that  day  was  entirely  Jewish.  They  kept  their  customs,  and 
resumed  those  little  practices  which  ordinary  people  looked 
upon  as  the  essence  of  Judaism.  The  people  regarded  them  as 
holy.  By  a  singular  tacking  about,  the  Pharisees,  who  had  served 
as  a  butt  to  the  fine  ridicule  of  Jesus,  became  almost  recon- 
ciled to  his  disciples.5  It  was  the  Sadducees  who  showed  them- 
selves irreconcilable  enemies  of  the  new  movement.  The  exact 
observance  of  the  law  seemed  the  first  condition,  in  order  to 
become  a  Christian. 

At  an  early  day,  great  difficulties  were  met  with  from  this  man- 
ner of  thinking ;  for  so  soon  as  the  Christian  family  began  to  en- 
large, it  would  be  precisely  among  the  people  of  non-Israelitish 
origin,  among  the  sympathetic  and  uncircumcised  adherents  of 
Judaism,  that  the  new  faith  would  gain  its  largest  accessions. 
To  oblige  them  to  have  themselves  circumcised  was  impossible. 
Peter,  with  an  admirable  show  of  practical  good  sense,  recog- 
nized this  well.  On  the  other  side,  timid  minds,  such  as  James, 
the  brother  of  the  Lord,  considered  it  the  greatest  impiety  to 
admit  heathens  into  the  church,  and  to  eat  with  them.  Peter 
deferred  the  whole  solution  as  long  as  he  could. 

In  a  word,  the  Jews  on  their  side  had  found  themselves  in  the 
same  situation,  and  had  pursued  a  similar  course.  When  prose- 
7 


74  SAINT  PAUL. 

lytes  or  partisans  were  being  gained  on  all  sides,  the  question 
had  presented  itself  to  them.  A  few  progressive  minds,  good, 
plain,  thinking  laymen,  not  subject  to  the  influence  of  the  doc- 
tors, did  not  insist  upon  circumcision.  At  times  they  even  dis- 
4  suaded  the  new  converts  from  having  it  performed.7  These 
I  kind  and  simple  hearts  wished  to  have  the  world  saved,  and  sac- 
rificed everything  else  to  this  idea.  The  orthodox  ones,  on  the 
contrary,  with  the  disciples  of  Shammai,  declared  circumcision 
indispensable.  Opposed  to  proselytism  among  the  Gentiles, 
they  did  nothing  to  facilitate  accessions  to  their  religion.  On  the 
contrary,  they  manifested  in  regard  to  converts  a  certain  con- 
tumaciousness.  Shammai  drove  them  away  from  him,  it  is  said, 
with  blows  from  a  stick.8  This  division  was  clearly  apparent  in 
the  royal  family  of  Adiabene.  A  Jew  named  Anania,  who  con- 
verted them,  and  who  was  in  no  wise  a  learned  man,  strongly 
dissuaded  Izate  from  having  himself  circumcised.  "  One  can," 
said  he,  "  live  entirely  like  a  Jew,  without  circumcision.  To  wor- 
ship God  is  the  really  important  thing."  The  pious  Helen  was 
of  the  same  opinion."  A  rigorist,  named  Eliazar,  declared,  on 
the  contrary,  that  if  the  king  did  not  have  himself  circumcised, 
he  would  be  an  impious  man  ;  that  it  was  of  no  use  to  read  the 
law  if  they  did  not  observe  it ;  that  the  first  precept  was  circum- 
cision. The  king  followed  this  opinion,  at  the  risk  of  losing  his 
crown.9  The  petty  kings  who  embraced  Judaism  with  a  view 
to  the  rich  marriages  offered  them  by  the  family  of  Herod  sub- 
mitted to  the  same  ceremony.10  But  true  piety  was  of  a  less 
facile  nature  than  policy  and  avarice.  Many  of  the  pious  neo- 
phytes led  a  Jewish  life  without  having  subjected  themselves  to 
a  rite  which  was  commonly  looked  upon  as  opening  access  to 
it.11  This  was  for  them  a  cause  of  perpetual  trouble.  Bigoted 
society,  in  which  prejudices  are  strong,  is  accustomed  to  con- 
strue its  religious  practices  into  acts  of  ban  ton,  of  good  educa- 
tion.12 While  in  France,  the  religious  man,  in  order  to  confess 
his  piety,  is  obliged  to  overcome  a  sort  of  shame,  of  worldly 
consideration ;  with  the  mussulmans,  on  the  contrary,  a  man  who 


SAINT  PAUL.  75 

practises  his.  religion  is  the  honest  man.  He  who  is  not  a  good 
mussulman  cannot  be  considered  as  a  respectable  person ;  his 
position  corresponds  to  that  of  a  coarse,  an  ill-mannered  rustic. 
In  the  same  way,  he  who  does  not  observe  the  Sabbath  in 
England  or  the  United  States  is  outlawed  by  good  society. 
Among  the  Jews,  the  position  of  the  uncircumcised  was  still 
worse.  Contact  with  such  a  man  had  in  their  eyes  something 
insupportable.  Circumcision  appeared  to  them  to  be  obligatory 
for  any  one  who  wished  to  live  with  them.13  He  who  did  not 
submit  to  it  was  a  creature  of  the  lower  grade,  a  sort  of  impure 
animal  whom  they  shunned,  a  pitiful  wretch,  with  whom  a  ma^ 
of  good  society  could  have  no  connections. 

The  great  duality  existing  in  the  bosom  of  Judaism  is  here  re- 
vealed. The  law,  essentially  restrictive,  made  to  isolate,  was  of 
an  entirely  different  spirit  from  the  prophets  which  dreamed  of 
the  conversion  of  the  world,  and  embraced  such  large  horizons. 
Two  words  borrowed  from  the  Talmudic  language  express  well 
the  difference  to  which  we  have  reference.  The  agada,  op- 
posed to  the  halaka,  designates  popular  preaching,  its  aim  being 
the  conversion  of  the  heathen,  in  opposition  to  the  learned 
casuistry  which  only  thinks  of  a  strict  execution  of  the  law, 
without  aiming  to  convert  any  one.  To  use  the  language  of 
the  Talmud,  the  Gospels  are  the  agadas ;  the  Talmud,  on  the 
contrary,  is  the  extreme  expression  of  the  halaka.  It  is  the 
agada  which  has  conquered  the  world,  and  constitutes  Chris- 
tianity ;  the  halaka  is  the  source  of  orthodox  Judaism,  which 
still  exists  without  wishing  to  enlarge  itself.  The  agada  pre- 
sents itself  as  a  thing  principally  Galilean ;  the  halaka  as  a  thing 
entirely  Hierosolymitic.  Jesus,  Hillel,  and  the  authors  of  the 
apocalypses  and  apocryphas  are  agadistes,  pupils  of  the  pro- 
phets, inheritors  of  their  boundless  aspirations;  Shammai,  the 
Talmudists,  and  the  Jews,  subsequent  to  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem, are  halakistes,  followers  of  the  law  with  its  strict  'observ- 
ances. We  shall  see  the  fanaticism  of  the  law  increasing  every 
day  until  the  supreme  crisis  of  the  year  seventy,  and  on  the  eve 


76  SAINT  PAUL. 

of  the  nation's  great  disaster,  ending  in  a  sort  of  reaction 
against  the  doctrines  of  Paul,  in  those  "eighteen  measures" 
which  henceforth  rendered  impossible  all  connection  between 
the  Jews  and  the  non-Jews,  and  opened  the  sad  history  of  ex- 
clusive, hating  and  hated  Judaism,  which  was  the  Judaism  of  the 
middle  ages,  and  is  still  the  Judaism  of  the  orient. 

It  is  clear  that,  for  growing  Christianity,  this  was  the  point  on 
which  the  future  depended.1*  Should  Judaism  impose  its  pecu- 
liar rites  upon  the  multitudes  who  embraced  it  or  not  ?  Should 
a  distinction  be  established  between  the  monotheistic  basis 
Tihich  constituted  its  nature,  and  the  observances  with  which  it 
was  laden  ?  If  the  former  party  had  triumphed  as  the  Sham- 
maites  desired,  the  Jewish  propaganda  would  have  ceased. 
It  is  a  very  certain  thing  that  the  world  would  not  have  turned 
Jew,  in  the  narrow  sense  of  the  word.  What  composed  the 
charm  of  Judaism  was  not  the  rites  which  did  not  differ  in  prin- 
ciple from  those  of  other  religions,  it  was  its  theological  sim- 
plicity. It  was  accepted  as  a  sort  of  deism,  of  religious  philoso- 
phy, and  in  truth,  in  the  mind  of  a  Philo,  for  instance,  Judaism 
had  associated  itself  very  well  with  philosophical  speculations. 

With  the  Essenes,  it  had  assumed  the  form  of  a  social  Uto- 
pia ;  with  the  author  of  the  poem  attributed  to  Phocylides,15  it 
had  become  a  simple  catechism  of  good  sense  and  honesty; 
and  with  the  author  of  the  treatise  on  "  The  Empire  of  Rea- 
son," 16  a  sort  of  stoicism.  Judaism,  like  all  religions  at  first 
founded  upon  caste  and  nationality,  was  encumbered  with  prac- 
tices destined  to  separate  the  believer  from  the  rest  of  the  world. 
These  practices  were  no  more  than  an  obstacle,  from  the  very 
day  Judaism  justly  aspired  to  become  the  universal  religion, 
without  exclusion  or  separation.  It  was  on  the  deism  and' not 
Mosaicism  that  it  was  to  become  the  universal  religion  of  hu- 
manity. "  Love  all  men,"  said  Hillel,  "  and  bring  them  near  to 
the  law.  Do  not  do  to  others  what  you  would  not  wish  that 
they  should  do  to  you.  This  is  the  whole  law,  the  rest  is  the 
commentary."17 


SAINT  PAUL.  77 

Let  one  read  the  treatises  of  Philo,  entitled,  "  Concerning  the 
Life  of  Contemplation,"  or,  "  That  Every  Honest  Man  is  Free"  ; 
let  one  read  even  certain  parts  of  the  Sibylline  verses,  written 
by  Jews,18  and  one  is  led  into  an  order  of  ideas  which  has  noth- 
ing specially  Jewish,  into  a  world  of  general  mysticism,  which  is 
no  more  Jewish  than  Buddhist  or  Pythagorean.  The  Pseudo- 
Phocylides  even  goes  so  far  as  to  suppress  the  Sabbath.  We 
feel'that  all  these  men,  anxious  for  the  amelioration  of  humanity, 
wish  to  reduce  Judaism  to  a  code  of  general  morality,  to  free  it 
from  all  its  particularities,  from  everything  which  makes  a  limited 
religion  of  it. 

In  fact,  three  main  reasons  existed  in  explanation  of  the  great 
exclusiveness  of  Judaism  :  they  were  circumcision,  the  forbidding 
of  mixed  marriages,  and  the  distinction  in  regard  to  forbidden 
or  lawful  meats.  Circumcision  was,  for  adults,  a  painful  cere- 
mony, one  not  without  danger,  and  disagreeable  to  the  highest 
degree.  It  was  one  of  the  reasons  which  interdicted  ordinary 
life  to  the  Jews,  and  transformed  them  into  a  caste  by  them- 
selves.19 At  the  baths  and  gymnasiums,  those  important  parts 
of  the  ancient  cities,  circumcision  exposed  the  Jew  to  all  sorts 
of  affronts.  Every  time  that  the  attention  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  was  directed  to  this  subject,  outbursts  of  jesting  follow- 
ed. The  Jews  were  very  sensitive  in  this  regard,  and  avenged 
themselves  by  cruel  reprisals.20  Several  of  them,  in  order  to  es- 
cape the  ridicule,  and  wishing  to  pass  themselves  off  for  Greeks, 
strove  to  efface  their  original  mark  by  a  surgical  operation 21  of 
which  Celsus  has  preserved  us  the  details.22  As  to  the  converts 
who  accepted  this  initiation  ceremony,  they  had  only  one  course 
to  pursue,  and  that  was,  to  hide  themselves  in  order  to  escape 
sarcastic  taunts.  Never  did  a  man  of  the  world  place  himself 
in  such  a  position  ;  and  this  is  doubtless  the  reason  why  con- 
versions to  Judaism  were  much  more  numerous  among  the 
women  than  among  the  men,23  the  former  not  finding  in  it  at 
first,  a  repulsive  and  in  all  respects  shocking  experience.  We 
have  many  examples  of  Jewesses  married  to  heathens,  but  not  a 
7* 


78  SAINT  PAUL. 

single  one  of  a  Jew  married  to  a  heathen  woman.  Hence,  there 
arose  many  disturbances,  and  there  was  a  need  felt  for  the  com- 
ing of  some  liberal  casuist,  who  might  restore  peace  to  these 
troubled  households. 

Mixed  marriages  were  the  origin  of  the  same  kind  of  difficul- 
ties. The  Jews  regarded  these  marriages  as  pure  fornication.24 
It  was  the  crime  which  the  kanaim  punished  with  the  dagger, 
simply  because  the  law,  not  prescribing  any  punishment  for  it, 
left  its  suppression  to  the  arm  of  the  zealot.25  Although  bound 
together  by  the  faith  and  the  love  of  Christ,  two  Christians  could 
thus  be  prevented  from  contracting  marriage.  The  Israelite 
converted  to  Jesus,  who  wished  to  marry  a  sister  of  Grecian 
blood,  heard  this  union,  sacred  in  his  eyes,  called  by  the  most 
outrageous  names.26 

The  ordinances  in  regard  to  pure  and  impure  meats  were  of 
less  consequence.  We  can  judge  of  this  by  what  takes  place  in 
our  day.  As  nudity  enters  no  longer  into  modern  customs, 
circumcision  has  lost  all  its  inconveniences  for  the  Israelites.  But 
the  necessity  of  separate  slaughter-houses  has  remained  a  source 
of  trouble  to  them.  It  requires  those  who  are  strict  not  to  eat  with 
Christians,  and  consequently  to  sequester  themselves  from  gen- 
eral society.  This  rule  is  the  principal  cause  which  still  holds 
Judaism  in  many  countries  in  the  position  of  a  cloistered  sect. 
In  those  countries  in  \vhich  the  Israelites  are  not  separated  from 
the  rest  of  the  nation,  it  forms  a  stumbling-block.  In  order  to 
understand  this,  it  is  sufficient  to  have  seen  to  what  point  the 
puritan  Jews,  coming  from  Germany  or  Poland,  are  shocked  at 
the  licenses  which  their  co-religionists  indulge  in,  on  this  side  of 
the  Rhine.  In  such  cities  as  Salamanca,  where  the  majority  of 
the  population  are  Jewish,  and  where  the  wealth  is  in  Jewish 
hands,  lively  social  intercourse  is  thus  rendered  impossible. 
Even  antiquity  complained  of  these  restrictions.27  A  Jewish  law, 
remnant  of  remote  ages,  in  which  precautions  for  cleanliness 
constituted  an  essential  part  of  religious  legislation,  gave  an 
infamous  reputation  to  the  swine,  and  one  which  had  no  right 


SAINT  PAUL.  79 

to  exist  in  Europe.  This  old  antipathy,  the  mark  of  an  oriental 
origin,  appeared  puerile  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans.28  A  great 
number  of  other  ordinances  arose  at  a  period  in  which  one  of 
the  foremost  thoughts  of  civilizers  was  to  prevent  those  under 
them  from  eating  unclean  things,  from  touching  carrion.  Finally, 
the  hygiene  of  marriage  had  prescribed  for  women  a  rather  com- 
plicated code  of  legal  impurities.  The  peculiar  characteristic 
of  these  kinds  of  ordinances  is  to  outlive  the  day  in  which  their 
existence  was  justified,  and  finally  to  become  as  inconvenient  as 
they  may  have  been  good  and  salutary  at  the  beginning. 

A  peculiar  circumstance  attached  considerable  weight  to  the 
ordinances  respecting  meats.  The  meats  coming  from  sacrifices 
were  held  to  be  unclean.29  Now  these  meats,  after  the  sacrifices, 
were  frequently  carried  to  the  market,30 where  it  was  very  diffi- 
cult to  distinguish  them.  Hence  arose  inextricable  scruples.  The 
strict  Jews  did  not  regard  it  as  lawful  to  buy  provision  promis- 
cuously in  the  market ;  they  desired  that  the  seller  should  be 
questioned  concerning  the  origin  of  the  meat,  and  that  before 
accepting  the  dishes  the  host  should  be  questioned  concerning 
the  manner  in  which  he  had  procured  his  provisions.31  To 
impose  this  burthen  of  casuistry  upon  the  neophytes  would 
evidently  have  spoiled  everything.  Christianity  would  not  have 
been  Christianity,  if,  like  the  Judaism  of  our  day,  it  had  been 
forced  to  have  slaughter-houses  by  itself,  and  if  the  Christian 
had  not  been  able  to  eat  with  other  men  without  violating  his 
duties.  When  we  have  seen  in  what  a  network  of  difficulties 
life  is  enclosed  by  religions  overladen  with  ordinances,32  when 
we  have  seen  the  Jew  and  the  Mussulman  of  the  orient  sepa- 
rated by  their  ritualistic  laws,  as  it  were  by  a  wall,  from  the 
European  world,  we  comprehend  the  immense  importance  of 
the  questions  which  were  being  decided  at  the  period  of  which 
we  are  speaking. 

The  question  arose  whether  Christianity  should  be  a  formal- 
istic  and  ritualistic  religion,  a  religion  of  ablutions,  purifications, 
and  distinctions  between  pure  and  impure  things,  or  rather  the 


8o  SAINT  PAUL. 

religion  of  the  spirit,  the  idealistic  worship  which  has  slain  or 
will  slay,  little  by  little,  religious  materialism,  together  with  all 
practices  and  all  ceremonies.  Or,  to  express  it  better,  the 
question  arose  whether  Christianity  should  be  a  petty  sect,  or  a 
universal  religion ;  whether  the  conception  of  Jesus  should  be 
overturned  through  the  incapacity  of  his  disciples,  or  whether 
this  conception  by  its  primitive  force  should  triumph  over  the 
scruples  of  a  few  narrow,  backward  minds,  which  were  upon  the 
point  of  substituting  themselves  in  its  place  and  destroying  it. 

The  mission  of  Paul  and  Barnabas -had  put  the  question  with 
such  a  force  that  there  was  no  longer  any  means  of  recoiling 
before  its  solution.  Paul,  who  in  the  first  period  of  his  preaching 
had,  it  appears,  preached  circumcision,33  now  declared  it  useless. 
He  had  admitted  the  heathen  into  the  church  at  the  start.  He 
had  formed  Gentile  churches.  Titus,  his  intimate  friend,  was 
not  circumcised.  The  church  of  Jerusalem  could  no  longer 
close  its  eyes  upon  such  notorious  facts.  Generally  speaking, 
this  church  was,  with  reference  to  the  subject  now  under 
consideration,  either  vacillating,  or  favorable  to  the  most  back- 
ward party.  The  conservative  senate  was  there.  Neighbors  of 
the  Temple,  and  in  perpetual  contact  with  the  Pharisees,  the 
old  apostles'  narrow  and  timid  minds  did  not  countenance  the 
profoundly  revolutionary  theories  of  Paul.  Many  Pharisees, 
moreover,  had  embraced  Christianity  without  renouncing  the 
essential  principles  of  their  sect.34  To  suppose  that  one  could 
be  saved  without  being  circumcised  was  a  blasphemy  in  the 
minds  of  such  persons.  To  them  the  law  appeared  to  exist  in 
its  entirety.  They  were  told  that  Jesus  had  come  to  put  his 
seal  upon  it,  not  to  repeal  it.  The  privilege  of  the  children  of 
Abraham  appeared  to  them  intact.  The  Gentiles  could  not  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God  without  having  first  affiliated  themselves 
to  the  family  of  Abraham.  In  a  word,  before  being  a  Christian 
it  was  necessary  to  become  a  Jew.  It  is  evident  that  Christianity 
never  had  a  more  fundamental  doubt  to  clear  up.  If  one  had 
been  willing  to  believe  the  Jewish  party,  even  the  Agape,  the 


SAIN  T.PAUL.  8 1 

repast  in  common,  would  have  been  impossible.  The  two  halves 
of  the  church  of  Jesus  would  not  have  been  able  to  communi- 
cate with  one  another.  In  a  theological  point  of  view,  the 
matter  was  still  graver :  the  question  arose  whether  they  were 
saved  by  the  works  of  the  Law,  or  by  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Several  members  of  the  church  of  Judea  having  come  to 
Antioch  without  any  mission,  it  appears,  from  the  apostolic  body,35 
incited  the  discussion.36  They  declared  loudly  that  no  one 
could  be  saved  without  circumcision.  It  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  Christians  who  at  Antioch  had  a  name  and  a  particular 
individuality,  had  none  at  Jerusalem,  —  a  fact  which  did  not 
prevent  those  who  came  from  Jerusalem  from  having  a  great 
deal  of  strength  in  the  whole  church,  for  the  centre  of  authority 
was  there.  The  excitement  ran  very  high.  Paul  and  Barnabas 
resisted  in  the  most  energetic  manner.  There  were  long 
disputes.  To  put  an  end  to  them,  it  was  decided  that  Paul  and 
Barnabas  should  go  to  Jerusalem,  in  order  to  come  to  an  under- 
standing with  the  apostles  and  elders  on  this  point. 

For  Paul,  this  matter  possessed  a  personal  importance.  His 
action  up  to  that  time  had  been  almost  absolutely  independent. 
He  had  only  passed  a  fortnight  at  Jerusalem  since  his  conver- 
sion, and  for  eleven  years  he  had  not  revisited  it.37  In  the  eyes 
of  several  he  was  a  sort  of  heretic,  teaching  on  his  own  account, 
and  hardly  in  communion  with  the  rest  of  the  faithful.  He 
declared  proudly  that  he  had  had  his  revelation,  his  gospel.  To 
go  to  Jerusalem,  was,  at  least  in  appearance,  renouncing  his 
liberty,  submitting  his  gospel  to  that  of  the  mother  church,  to 
learn  from  others  what  he  knew  through  a  peculiar  and  personal 
revelation.  He  did  not  deny  the  rights  of  the  mother  church ;  but 
he  mistrusted  them,  because  he  knew  the  obstinacy  of  several  of 
her  members.  He  therefore  took  his  precautions  not  to  commit 
himself  too  much.  He  declared  that,  in  going  to  Jerusalem,  he 
did  not  yield  to  any  injunction.  He  even  feigned,  in  accordance 
with  a  pretence  which  was  customary  with  him,38  to  be  obeying 
an  order  from  heaven,  and  to  have  had  a  revelation  on  this 


82  SAINT  PAUL. 

subject.39  He  took  with  him  his  disciple  Titus,  who  shared  all 
his  opinions,  and  who,  as  we  have  said,  was  not  circumcised.40 

Paul,  Barnabas,  and  Titus  set  out  on  their  journey.  The 
church  of  Antioch  escorted  them  on  the  road  to  Laodicea  on 
the  Sea.41  They  followed  the  coast  of  Phenicia,  then  crossed 
Samaria,  meeting  at  each  step  the  brethren,  and  relating  to  them 
the  wonders  of  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles.  Joy  was  every- 
where. Thus  they  arrived  at  Jerusalem.  This  is  one  of  the 
mgsj:  solemn  hours  in  the  history  of  Christianity.  The  great 
question  is  going  to  be  solved.  Men  on  whom  the  whole  future 
of  the  new  religion  is  reposing  are  going  to  meet  face  to  face. 
Upon  their  grandeur  of  soul,  upon  their  uprightness  of  heart, 
depends  the  future  of  humanity. 

Eighteen  years  had  elapsed  since  the  death  of  Jesus.  The 
apostles  had  grown  old ;  one  of  them  had  suffered  martyrdom ; 
others  perhaps  were  dead.  It  is  known  that  the  deceased 
members  of  the  apostolic  college  were  not  replaced,  and  that 
they  were  allowing  the  college  to  become  extinct  in  this 
manner. 

By  the  side  of  the  apostles  had  been  formed  a  college  of 
elders,  who  shared  their  authority.42  The  church,  looked  upon 
as  the  depository  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  was  composed  of  apostles, 
elders,  and  the  entire  brotherhood.43  There  were  even  degrees 
among  the  simple  brethren.44  Inequality  was  perfectly  admissi- 
ble, but  this  inequality  was  entirely  moral.  There  was  no 
question  of  exterior  prerogatives  nor  material  advantages.  The 
three  principal  "columns,"  as  they  were  called,  of  the  community, 
were  still  Peter,  James,  brother  of  the  Lord,  and  John,  son  of 
Zebedee.45  Several  Galileans  had  disappeared,  and  had  been 
replaced  by  a  certain  number  of  persons  belonging  to  the  party 
of  the  Pharisees.  "Pharisee"  was  the  synonym  of  "devotee." 
Now  all  these  good  saints  of  Jerusalem  were  also  very  bigoted. 
Not  having  the  mind,  the  finesse,  the  elevation  of  Jesus,  they 
had  fallen  after  his  death  into  a  sort  of  dull  bigotry,  like  that 
which  their  master  had  so  vigorously  combated.  They  were 


SAINT  PAUL.  83 

incapable  of  irony;  they  had  almost  forgotten  the  eloquent  invec- 
tives of  Jesus  against  the  hypocrites.  Some  of  them  had  become 
species  of  Jewish  talapoins,  after  the  manner  of  John  the  Baptist 
and  Banou  santons,  entirely  given  up  to  practices  against  which 
Jesus,  had  he  still  been  living,  certainly  would  not  have  had 
sarcasms  enough. 

James,  in  particular,  surnamed  the  Just,46  or  "  brother  of  the 
Lord,"  was  one  of  the  most  exact  observers  of  the  law  at  that 
period.47  According  to  certain  traditions,  in  truth  very  unreliable, 
he  was  even  an  ascetic,  practising  all  the  abstinences  of  the 
Nazarenes,  observing  celibacy,48  not  drinking  any  intoxicating 
liquor,  abstaining  from  flesh,  never  cutting  his  hair,  denying 
himself  ointments  and  baths,  wearing  no  sandals  nor  woollen 
garments,  but  clothed  in  plain  linen.49  Nothing,  it  will  be  seen, 
was  more  opposed  to  the  ideas  of  Jesus,  who,  at  least  after  the 
death  of  John  the  Baptist,  had  declared  this  sort  of  affectation 
perfectly  useless.  Abstinences  already  in  favor,  in  certain 
branches  of  Judaism,50  became  prevalent,  and  constituted  a 
dominant  characteristic  of  that  fraction  of  the  church,  which,  at 
a  later  period  was  to  be  joined  to  a  pretended  Ebion.51  The 
genuine  Jews  were  opposed  to  these  abstinences  ;52  but  the  pros- 
elytes, above  all  the  women,  were  much  in-  favor  of  them.53 
James  did  not  leave  the  temple ;  he  remained  there,  it  is  said, 
alone,  in  long  hours  of  prayer,  until  his  knees  had  become  callous 
and  hard,  like  those  of  camels.  It  was  believed  that  he  passed 
his  time  there  after  the  manner  of  Jeremiah,  in  penitence  for 
the  people,  mourning  for  the  sins  of  the  nation,  and  praying  for 
her  escape  from  the  chastisements  which  threatened  her.  It 
was  sufficient  for  him  to  raise  his  hands  toward  heaven  in  order 
to  perform  miracles.54  They  had  surnamed  him  the  Just,  and 
also  Obliam,  that  is  to  say  "  bulwark  of  the  people,"55  because 
they  supposed  that  it  was  his  prayers  which  prevented  the  Divine 
wrath  from  destroying  everything.56  The  Jews,  so  we  are  assured, 
held  him  in  almost  the  same  veneration  as  the  Christians.57  If 
this  singular  man  really  was  the  brother  of  Jesus,  he  must  have 


84  SAINT  PAUL. 

been,  at  least,  one  of  those  opposition  brothers  who  denied  him 
and  wished  to  arrest  him  j68  and  it  is  perhaps  to  such  recollections 
that  Paul,  angered  at  so  weak  a  mind,  alluded,  when  he  cried 
out  in  reference  to  these  columns  of  the  church  at  Jerusalem, 
"Whatsoever  they  were,  it  maketh  no  matter  to  me.  God 
accepteth  no  man's  person."59  Jude,  brother  of  James,  was,  it 
appears,  in  entire  harmony  with  his  ideas.60 

In  short,  the  church  of  Jerusalem  had  separated  more  and 
more  from  the  ideas  of  Jesus.  The  leaden  weight  of  Judaism 
had  drawn  it  along.  Jerusalem  was  an  unhealthy  centre  for  the 
new  faith,  and  in  the  end  would  have  ruined  it.  In  this  capital 
of  Judaism,  it  was  very  difficult  to  cease  to  be  a  Jew.  Therefore 
the  new  men,  like  St.  Paul,  almost  invariably  avoided  residing 
there.  Obliged  now,  under  the  penalty  of  a  separation  from  the 
primitive  church,  to  go  and  confer  with  their  elders,  they  found 
themselves  in  a  very  uncomfortable  situation,  and  the  work 
which  could  only  continue  to  exist  through  the  means  of 
concord  and  self-denial  was  placed  in  great  danger. 

The  interview  *was  in  truth  singularly  constrained  and  embar- 
rassed.61 They  listened  at  first  with  favor  to  the  account  which 
Paul  and  Barnabas  gave  of  their  missions ;  for  all,  even  the  most 
Judaizing,  were  of  the  opinion  that  the  conversion  of  the  heathen 
was  the  great  sign  of  the  Messiah.62  The  curiosity  to  see  the 
man  of  whom  they  had  heard  so  much  said,  and  who  had  led  the 
sect  into  so  new  a  path,  was  at  first  very  rife.  They  praised  God 
for  having  made  an  apostle  out  of  a  persecutor.63  But  when 
they  reached  the  circumcision  and  the  obligation  to  practise  the 
law,  the  dissension  broke  out  in  all  its  force.  The  Pharisee 
party  raised  claims  in  the  most  absolute  manner.  The  party  of 
emancipation  made  reply  with  a  triumphant  energy.  There 
were  several  cases  in  which  the  uncircumcised  had  received  the 
Holy  Spirit.  If  God  made  no  distinction  between  heathen  and 
Jew,  how  could  they  have  the  audacity  to  make  it  for  him  ? 
How  could  they  regard  as  unclean  what  God  has  purified? 
Why  impose  on  the  neophyte  a  yoke  which  the  race  of  Israel 


SAINT  PAUL.  85 

had  not  been  able  to  bear  ?  It  is  by  Jesus  that  we  are  saved, 
and  not  by  the  law.64  Paul  and  Barnabas  related  in  support 
of  this  position  the  miracles  that  God  had  performed  for  the 
conversion  of  the  Gentiles.65  J3ut  the  Pharisees  objected,  with 
no  less  force,  that  the  law  was  not  abolished ;  that  one  never 
ceased  to  be  a  Jew;  that  the  obligations  of  a  Jew  remained 
always  the  same.  They  refused  to  have  any  connections  with 
Titus,  who  was  uncircumcised.  They  treated  Paul  openly  as 
one  unfaithful  and  opposed  to  the  law. 

The  most  admirable  feature  in  the  history  of  the  origins  of 
Christianity  is  that  this  profound  and  radical  division,  bearing 
upon  a  matter  of  the  highest  importance,  should  not  have  pro- 
duced a  complete  schism  in  the  church,  and  one  which  would 
have  wrought  its  ruin.  The  brittle  and  overstrained  mind  of 
Paul  had  here  a  formidable  opportunity  to  manifest  itself;  but 
his  practical  good  sense,  his  wisdom,  his  judgment,  was  a  rem- 
edy for  everything.  The  two  parties  were  sprightly,  animated, 
almost  severe  toward  each  other.  No  one  renounced  his  opinion  ; 
the  question  was  not  solved.  They  remained  united  in  the  com- 
mon work.  A  superior  tie,  the  love  they  all  bore  Jesus,  the 
remembrance  in  which  they  all  lived,  was  stronger  than  the 
divisions.  The  most  fundamental  dissension  which  was  ever 
produced  in  the  bosom  of  the  church  brought  down  no  anath- 
ema, —  a  great  lesson,  which  ages  to  come  will  know  but  little 
how  to  imitate. 

Paul  saw  that  he  would  never  succeed  in  numerous  and 
impassioned  assemblies ;  that  the  narrow  minds  would  always 
triumph  there ;  that  Judaism  was  too  strong  at  Jerusalem  for 
any  one  to  hope  for  a  concession  in  principles  from  it.  He 
went  to  see  separately  all  the  principal  personages  ;  in  particular, 
Peter,  James,  and  John.66  Peter,  like  every  man  who  indulges, 
above  all,  in  an  elevated  sentiment,  was  indifferent  to  questions 
of  party.  These  questions  pained  him.  He  longed  for  union, 
concord,  peace.  His  timid  and  contracted  mind  freed  itself 
with  difficulty  from  Judaism.  He  would  have  preferred  to  have  the 
8 


86  SAINT  PAUL. 

new  converts  accept  circumcision,  but  he  saw  the  impossibility 
of  such  a  solution.  Natures  thoroughly  kind  always  lack 
decision :  sometimes  they  even  give  way  to  a  little  dissimula- 
tion ;  they  want  to  satisfy  every  one.  No  question  of  principle 
being  in  their  estimation  worth  the  cost  of  peace,  they  allow 
themselves  to  drift  in  their  connections  with  the  different  parties 
into  words  and  contradictory  engagements.  Peter  committed 
this  slight  fault  sometimes.  To  Paul's  face  he  was  for  the  uncir- 
cumcised ;  but  with  the  strict  Jews  he  became  the  partisan  of 
circumcision.  Paul's  soul  was  so  large,  so  open,  so  full  of  the 
new  fire  that  Jesus  had  come  to  bring  upon  the  earth,  that  Peter 
could  not  fail  to  sympathize  with  him.  They  loved  each  other, 
and  when  they  were  together  it  was  the  whole  world  which  these 
sovereigns  of  the  future  shared  with  each  other. 

It  was  doubtless  at  the  termination  of  one  of  their  conversa- 
tions that  Paul,  with  the  exaggeration  of  language  and  dash 
which  were  customary  with  him,  said  to  Peter,  "  We  can  agree 
together ;  thou  shalt  have  the  gospel  of  circumcision,  and  I  the 
gospel  of  uncircumcision."  At  a  later  period,  Paul  took  up  this 
remark  as  a  sort  of  regular  agreement,  and  one  accepted  by  all 
the  apostles.67  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  Peter  and  Paul 
would  have  dared  to  repeat  words  outside  of  their  conversation 
which  would  have  wounded  the  feelings  of  James,  and  perhaps 
even  of  John,  most  profoundly.  But  the  remark  was  made. 
These  broad  horizons,  which  were  little  like  those  of  Jerusalem, 
greatly  moved  the  enthusiastic  soul  of  Peter.  Paul  impressed 
Peter  most  deeply,  and  gained  him  over  completely.  Up  to 
that  time,  Peter  had  travelled  but  little.  His  pastoral  visits  had 
not  assumed  a  large  circuit,  it  appears,  outside  of  Palestine. 
He  must  have  been  about  fifty  years  old.  Paul's  passion  for 
travel,  the  descriptions  of  his  apostolic  journeyings,  the  plans 
which  he  communicated  to  him  concerning  the  future,  set  his 
ardor  on  fire.  It  is  from  this  date  that  we  see  Peter  absenting 
himself  from  Jerusalem,  and  leading,  in  his  turn,  the  wandering 
life  of  the  apostolate. 


SAINT  PAUL.  87 

James,  with  his  sanctity  of  so  equivocal  a  style,  was  the 
corypheus  of  the  Judaizing  party.68  It  was  through  him  that 
almost  all  the  conversions  among  the  Pharisees  had  been  made  ; w 
the  exigencies  of  this  party70  were  met  by  him.  Everything 
leads  us  to  believe  that  he  made  no  concession  in  regard  f> 
dogmatic  principle  ;71  but  a  moderate  and  conciliatory  spirit  soon 
began  to  be  evident.  They  admitted  the  genuineness  of  the 
heathen  conversions ;  they  declared  that  it  was  useless  to  trouble 
them  in  regard  to  circumcision;  that  it  was  only  necessary  to 
maintain  a  few  ordinances  touching  morality,  or  those  of  which 
the  suppression  would  have  shocked  the  Jews  too  greatly."  In 
order  to  reassure  the  party  of  the  Pharisees,  they  asserted  that 
the  existence  of  the  law  was  not  on  that  account  jeopardized ; 
that  Moses  had  had  from  time  immemorial,  and  always  would 
have,  those  to  read  his  word  in  the  synagogues.73  In  this  way 
the  converted  Jews  remained  faithful  to  the  law,  and  the 
exemption  only  had  reference  to  the  converted  heathen.74  In 
practice,  moreover,  they  were  to  avoid  offending  those  who  had 
stricter  views.  It  was  probably  the  moderate  minds,  authors  of 
this  rather  contradictory  transaction,75  who  advised  Paul  to  per- 
suade Titus  to  have  himself  circumcised.  Titus,  in  reality, 
had  become  one  of  the  chief  difficulties  of  the  situation.  The 
Pharisean  converts  of  Jerusalem  willingly  supported  the  fact 
that  very  far  from  them,  at  Antioch,  or  in  the  depth  of  Asia 
Minor,  there  were  uncircumcised  Christians.  But  to  see  them 
in  Jerusalem,  to  be  obliged  to  associate  with  them,  and  thus 
commit  a  flagrant  violation  of  that  law  to  which  they  clung, 
body  and  soul,  that  was  something  to  which  they  did  not  resign 
themselves. 

Paul  received  such  a  demand  with  a  great  many  precautions. 
He  was  well  convinced  that  it  was  not  through  necessity  that 
they  asked  for  the  circumcision  of  Titus;  that  Titus  would 
remain  a  Christian  even  should  he  not  undergo  this  ceremony,  but 
that  they  asked  it  as  a  mark  of  condescension  for  the  brethren 
whose  consciences  were  interested,  and  who  otherwise  could 


33  SAINT  PAUL. 

not  have  any  connections  with  him.  Paul  consented,  not  with- 
out some  hard  words  against  the  authors  of  such  an  exigency ; 
against  "those  intruders  who  had  only  entered  the  church  to 
diminish  the  number  of  liberties  created  by  Jesus."76  He  pro- 
tested that  in  nothing  would  he  submit  his  opinion  to  theirs ; 
that  the  concession  which  he  made  was  only  for  this  time  alone, 
and  in  consideration  of  the  good  resulting  from  peace.  With 
such  reservations  he  gave  his  consent,  and  Titus  was  circumcised. 
This  action  cost  Paul  a  great  deal,  and  the  sentence  in  which  he 
speaks  of  it  is  one  of  the  most  original  that  he  ever  wrote. 
The  sentence  at  first  glance  appears  to  say  that  Titus  was  not 
circumcised,  while  it  implies  that  he  was.77  The  painful  recol- 
lection of  this  moment  often  recurs  to  him.  This  apparent  return 
to  Judaism  seemed  to  him  at  times  like  a  denial  of  Jesus.  He 
reassured  himself  by  saying,  "  And  unto  the  Jews  I  became  as 
a  Jew,  that  I  might  gain  the  Jews." 78  Like  all  men  who  hold 
strongly  to  ideas,  Paul  cared  little  for  forms.  He  saw  the 
vanity  of  everything  which  does  not  proceed  from  the  soul,  and 
when  the  supreme  interests  of  conscience  were  at  stake,  he, 
usually  so  inflexible,  abandoned  everything  else.79 

The  very  important  concession  implied  by  the  circumcision 
of  Titus  overcame  much  of  the  ill-will.  They  allowed  that  in 
distant  countries,  where  the  newly  converted  had  no  daily  inter- 
course with  the  Jews,  it  would  be  sufficient  if  they  abstained 
from  blood  as  well  as  from  meats  offered  in  sacrifice  to  the  gods, 
or  strangled,  and  that  they  observed  the  same  laws  as  the  Jews 
in  respect  to  marriage  and  the  relations  of  the  two  sexes.80  The 
use  of  the  flesh  of  swine,  the  forbidding  of  which  was  every- 
where the  sign  of  Judaism,  was  left  free.  It  was  about  the 
ensemble  of  Noachian  precepts ;  that  is  to  say,  those  supposed 
to  have  been  revealed  to  Noah,  and  which  were  imposed  upon 
all  the  proselytes.81  The  idea  that  life  is  in  the  blood,  and  that 
blood  is  the  soul  itself,  inspired  the  Jews  with  an  extreme  hor- 
ror for  meats  which  had  not  been  bled.  To  abstain  therefrom 
was  for  them  a  precept  of  natural  religion.82  They  supposed 


SAINT  PAUL.  89 

demons  to  be  particularly  greedy  of  blood,  so  that  in  eating 
meat  that  had  not  been  bled  there  was  a  risk  of  swallowing 
a  demon.88  A  man  who  about  this  period  wrote,  under  the 
assumed  name  of  the  celebrated  Greek  moralist,  Phocylides,  a 
petty  course  of  Jewish  natural  morality,  simplified  for  the  use  of 
non-Jews,84  gave  attention  to  analogous  solutions.  This  honest 
fabricator  in  no  wise  strives  to  convert  his  reader  to  Judaism. 
He  merely  seeks  to  inculcate  in  him  the  "  Noachian  precepts," 
and  a  few  quite  modified  Jewish  revelations  concerning  meats 
and  marriage.  The  first  of  these  rules  are  reduced  by  him  to 
prescriptions  concerning  hygiene  and  alimentary  fitness,  —  to  the 
abstaining  from  repulsive  or  unhealthy  things.  The  second 
relate  to  the  regularity  and  purity  of  sexual  intercourse.83  The 
entire  remainder  of  the  Jewish  ritual  is  reduced  to  nothing. 

To  conclude,  the  results  of  the  convention  at  Jerusalem  were 
only  agreed  to  viva  voce,  and  not  even  drawn  up  in  a  very 
strict  manner,  for  we  shall  frequently  see  them  disregarded.86 
The  idea  of  dogmatic  regulations  emanating  from  a  council  had 
not  as  yet  suggested  itself.  With  a  profound  good  sense,  these 
simple  people  attained  the  highest  degree  of  political  expediency. 
They  saw  that  the  only  possibility  of  escaping  great  questions 
is  not  to  solve  them ;  to  take  half-way  measures,  which  satisfy 
no  one ;  and  to  allow  the  questions  to  use  themselves  up  and  die 
from  lack  of  claim  to  existence. 

They  separated,  satisfied.  Paul  set  forth  to  Peter,  James,  and 
John,  the  gospel  that  he  was  preaching  to  the  Gentiles.  They 
approved  it  completely ;  found  nothing  reprehensible  in  it,  and 
did  not  undertake  to  add  anything  to  it.87  They  took  Paul  and 
Barnabas  openly  by  the  hand ;  they  admitted  their  immediate 
divine  right  to  the  apostolate  of  the  heathen  world ;  they  ascribed 
to  them  a  sort  of  peculiar  grace  for  those  who  were  the  special 
object  of  their  vocation.  The  title  of  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles, 
which  St.  Paul  had  already  assumed,  was,  as  he  assures  us,88 
officially  confirmed  in  him.  And,  without  a  doubt,  they  accorded 
him,  at  least  by  tacit  consent,  the  claim  he  valued  the  most, 
8* 


90  SAINT  PAUL. 

namely,  that  he  had  had  his  special  revelation  as  directly  as 
those  who  had  seen  Jesus;  in  other  words,  that  his  vision  on. 
the  road  to  Damascus  equalled  the  other  apparitions  of  the 
resurrected  Christ.  In  return,  they  only  asked  the  three  repre- 
sentatives of  the  church  of  Antioch  not  to  forget  the  poor  of 
Jerusalem.  In  truth,  the  church  of  this  city,  by  consequence  of 
its  communistic  organization,  its  peculiar  duties,  and  the  wretch- 
edness which  existed  in  Judea,  continued  to  remain  at  bay. 
Paul  and  his  party  accepted  this  proposition  with  eagerness. 
They  hoped,  by  a  sort  of  contribution,  to  silence  the  intolerant 
Hierosolymitic  party,  and  to  reconcile  it  to  the  idea  of  there 
being  Gentile  churches.  By  means  of  a  slight  tribute,  they 
purchased  freedom  of  thought,  and  remained  in  communication 
with  the  central  church,  outside  of  which  they  did  not  dare  to 
hope  for  safety.89 

In  order  that  no  doubt  should  remain  in  regard  to  reconcilia- 
tion, they  desired  that  Paul,  Barnabas,  and  Titus,  in  returning  to 
Antioch,  should  be  accompanied  by  two  of  the  principal  members 
of  the  church  of  Jerusalem.  Judas  Bar-Sabas,  and  Silvanus,  or 
Silas,  were  commissioned  to  disown  the  brethren  of  Judea,  who  had 
created  trouble  in  the  church  of  Antioch,  and  to  give  testimony 
to  Paul  and  Barnabas,  whose  services  and  devotion  they  recog- 
nized. The  joy  at  Antioch  was  very  great.  Judas  and  Silas 
were  regarded  as  prophets.  Their  inspired  words  were  extremely 
acceptable  to  the  church  of  Antioch.  Silas  was  so  well  pleased 
in  this  atmosphere  of  life  and  liberty  that  he  did  not  wish  to 
return  to  Jerusalem.  Judas  returned  alone  to  the  apostles,  and 
Silas  attached  himself  to  Paul  by  ties  of  brotherhood  drawn 
closer  every 'day.90 


SAINT  PAUL.  91 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SECRET  PROPAGATION    OF     CHRISTIANITY.  —  ITS    INTRODUCTION 
INTO     ROME. 

ONE  idea  of  which  it  is  necessary  to  rid  one's  self  when  the 
propagation  of  Christianity  is  under  consideration,  is,  that  this 
propagation  was  brought  about  by  means  of  uninterrupted 
missions,  and  the  efforts  of  preachers  similar  to  the  missionaries 
of  modern  times,  whose  business  was  to  go  from  city  to  city. 
Paul,  Barnabas,  and  their  companions,  were  the  only  ones  who 
sometimes  proceeded  in  this  manner.  The  rest  was  wrought 
by  those  whose  names  have  remained  unknown.  At  the  side  of 
those  apostles  who  attained  celebrity,  there  existed  in  this 
manner  another  and  obscure  apostolate,  whose  agents  were  not 
dogmatists  by  profession,  but  who  were  on  that  account  only 
the  more  efficacious.  The  Jews  of  this  period  were  extremely 
nomadic.  Merchants,  servants,  petty  artisans,  frequented  all  the 
large  cities  on  the  coast,  exercising  their  callings.  Active, 
laborious  and  honest,1  they  carried  their  ideas,  their  good 
examples,  and  their  confidence  with  them,  and  towered  above 
these  inhabitants,  debased  in  matters  of  religion,  with  all  the 
superiority  of  the  enthusiast  over  the  indifferent.  The  affiliated 
of  the  Christian  sect  travelled  like  the  other  Jews,  and  bore  the 
good  tidings  along  with  them.  It  was  a  sort  of  confidential 
preaching,  and  much  more  persuasive  than  any  other.  The 
mildness,  the  gayety,  the  good-humor,  and  the  patience  of  the 
new  believers,2  made  them  welcome  everywhere,  and  won  hearts 
for  them. 

Rome  was  one  of  the  first  points  reached  in  this  manner. 
The  capital  of  the  empire  heard  the  name  of  Jesus  long  before 
the  intermediate  countries  had  been  evangelized,  just  as  a 
mountain-top  is  lighted  up  when  the  valleys  situated  between  it 


92  SAINT  PAUL. 

and  the  sun  are  still  enveloped  in  darkness.  In  fact,  Rome  was 
the  rendezvous  of  all  oriental  religions,3  the  point  on  the 
Mediterranean  with  which  the  Syrians  had  most  connections. 
They  arrived  there  in  enormous  hordes.  Like  all  poor  people 
rushing  to  the  assault  of  large  cities,  to  which  they  go  to  seek 
fortune,  they  were  diligent  and  submissive.  With  them  landed 
bands  of  Greeks,  Asiatics,  Egyptians,  all  speaking  Greek.  Rome 
was  literally  a  bilingual  city.4  The  language  of  the  Jewish  world 
and  of  the  Christian  world  in  Rome  was  for  three  centuries 
Greek.5  At  Rome,  Greek  was  the  language  of  everything  most 
wicked  and  most  upright,  best  and  worst.  Rhetoricians,  gram- 
marians, philosophers,  worthy  pedagogues,  teachers,  servants, 
intriguers,  artists,  singers,  dancers,  brokers,  and  artisans, 
preachers  of  new  sects,  religious  heroes, — all  these  people  spoke 
Greek.  The  old  Roman  bourgeoisie  was  losing  ground  each 
day,  overwhelmed  as  it  was  by  this  tide  of  strangers. 

It  is  extremely  probable  that  as  early  as  the  year,  50  a  few 
Syrian  Jews,  converted  to  Christianity,  entered  the  capital  of  the 
empire,  and  spread  their  ideas  there.  In  fact,  among  the  good 
administrative  measures  of  Claudius,  Suetonius  includes  the 
following :  "  He  cleared  Rome  of  Jews  who  frequently  caused 
disturbances,  at  the  instigation  of  one  Chrestus." 6  Of  course 
it  is  possible  that  Rome  may  have  contained  a  Jew  by  the  name 
of  Chrestus,7  who  caused  trouble  among  his  co-religionists,  and 
brought Jibout  their  expulsion.  But  it  is  far  more  probable8 
that  this  name  of  Chrestus  is  no  other  than  the  name  of  Christ 
himself.9  The  introduction  of  the  new  faith  doubtless  gave 
rise  in  the  Jewish  district  of  Rome  to  disputes,  quarrels,  in  short 
to  scenes  similar  to  those  which  had  taken  place  at  Damascus, 
Antioch  of  Pisidia,  and  Lystra.  Wishing  to  put  an  end  to  these 
disorders,  the  police  may  have  issued  a  warrant  for  the  expulsion 
of  these  peace  disturbers.  The  chiefs  of  police  probably  only 
superficially  investigated  the  cause  of  the  disturbance,  a  matter 
of  little  interest  to  them,  and  a  report  addressed  to  the  govern- 
ment may  have  stated  that  the  rioters  were  called  christiani™ 


SAINT  PAUL.  93 

that  is  to  say,  partisans  of  one  Christ  its.  This  name  being 
unknown,  it  may  have  been  changed  into  Chrestus,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  habit  of  slightly  educated  persons  to  give  foreign 
names  a  form  appropriate  to  their  customs.11  Hence,  to  arrive 
at  the  conclusion  that  there  was  a  man  by  this  name  who  had 
been  the  instigator  and  the  leader  of  these  disturbances 12  was 
but  a  single  step  to  take.  The  inspectors  of  police  took  it,  and 
without  any  further  investigation  they  pronounced  the  banish- 
ment of  both  parties.13 

The  principal  Jewish  quarter  of  Rome  was  situated  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Tiber ; "  that  is  to  say,  in  the  poorest  and  dirtiest 
portion  of  the  city,15  probably  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  present 
porta  Portcse.™  There  was  formerly  located,  as  in  our- day,  the 
port  of  Rome, — the  place  where  merchandise  brought  from  Ostia, 
in  flat-boats,  was  landed.  It  was  a  district  of  Jews  and  Syrians, 
"  nations  born  for  servitude,"  as  Cicero  says.17  The  first  nucleus 
of  the  Jewish  population  of  Rome  had  in  fact  been  composed  of 
freedmen,18  principally  descended  from  those  whom  Pompey 
brought  as  prisoners  to  Rome.  They  had  passed  through  slavery 
without  the  least  change  in  their  religious  habits.19  An  admirable 
point  about  Judaism  is  this  simplicity  of  faith,  a  result  of  which 
is,  that  the  Jew  transported  a  thousand  leagues  from  his  country, 
after  the  lapse  of  several  generations,  is  still  the  same  genuine 
Jew.  The  connections  of  the  synagogues  of  Rome  with 
Jerusalem  were  uninterrupted.20  The  first  colony  had  been 
reinforced  by  numerous  emigrants.21  These  poor  people 
embarked  by  hundreds  at  the  Ripa,  and  lived  among  themselves, 
in  the  district  adjoining  the  Transtevere,  serving  as  porters,  petty 
dealers,  exchanging  matches  for  broken  glass,  and  presenting 
the  proud  Italian  population  a  type  which  was  later  destined  to 
become  too  familiar  to  them  —  that  of  the  beggar,  master  in  his 
art.22  A  Roman  who  respected  himself  never  entered  these 
abject  districts.  It  was  like  a  precinct  sacrificed  to  the  despised 
classes  and  to  infectious  purposes.  The  tanneries  and  fermenting 
troughs  were  located  there.23  Therefore  these  wretched  people 


94  SAINT  PAUL. 

lived  quite  peaceably  in  this  abandoned  corner,  in  the  midst  of 
bales  of  merchandise,  low  public  houses,  and  the  litter-carriers 
" Syri"  who  had  their  headquarters  there.2*  The  police  only- 
entered  there  when  the  disturbances  were  bloody,  or  took  place 
too  frequently.  Few  districts  of  Rome  were  so  free ;  politics 
had  nothing  to  seek  there.  In  ordinary  times,  the  religion  was 
not  only  practised  there  without  obstacle,  but  propaganda  was 
made  there  with  every  facility.25 

Protected  by  the  disdain  which  they  inspired,  slightly  sensible 
moreover  to  the  railleries  of  the  outside  world,  the  Jews  of  che 
Transtavere  thus  led  a  religious  and  very  active  social  life. 
They  possessed  schools  of  hakamim  ;26  nowhere  was  the  ritual- 
istic and  ceremonial  part  of  the  law  more  scrupulously  observed,27 
the  synagogues  presented  the  most  complete  organization 
known.28  The  titles  of  "father  and  mother  of  the  synagogue"29 
were  highly  prized.  Rich  female  converts  assumed  biblical 
names  ;  they  likewise  converted  their  slaves,  had  the  Scriptures 
explained  to  them  by  the  doctors,  constructed  places  for  prayer, 
and  showed  themselves  proud  of  the  consideration  that  they 
enjoyed  in  this  little  world.30  The  poor  Jewess  seized  an  oppor- 
tunity while  begging  with  a  trembling  voice  to  whisper  a  few 
words  of  the  law  into  the  ear  of  the  high  Roman  lady,  and  often 
gained  over  the  matron  who  extended  her  hand  to  her  full  of 
small  pieces  of  money.31  To  keep  the  Sabbath  and  the  Jewish 
festivities  is  for  Horace  the  characteristic  which  classes  a  man 
among  the  weak  minds,  that  is  to  say,  the  multitude,  unus 
multorum?1  Universal  kindness,  happiness  of  reposing  with  the 
just,  helping  the  poor,  purity  of  morals,  sweetness  of  family  life, 
mild  acceptation  of  death,  considered  as  a  sleep,  are  sentiments 
which  recur  in  Jewish  inscriptions  with  that  peculiar  accent  of 
touching  grace,  humility,  and  certain  hope  which  characterizes 
Christian  inscriptions.33  There  were  very  many  Jewish  men  of 
the  world,  rich  and  powerful,  such  as  that  Tiberias  Alexander, 
who  reached  the  highest  honors  of  the  Empire,  exercised  twice 
or  three  times  an  influence  of  the  first  order  upon  public  affairs, 


SAINT  PAUL.  95 

and  even  had,  to  the  great  chagrin  of  the  Romans,  a  statue  in 
the  Forum  ;34  but  such  ones  were  no  longer  Jews.  The  Herods, 
although  practising  their  religion  at  Rome  with  ostentation,35 
were  far — through  their  relations  with  the  heathen  alone — from 
being  true  Israelites.  The  poor  but  faithful  ones  regarded 
these  worldly  men  as  renegades;  just  as  we  in  our  day  see  the 
Polish  or  Hungarian  Jews  treating  with  severity  the  French 
Israelites  occupying  high  positions,  .who  abandon  the  synagogue 
and  bring  their  children  up  in  Protestantism,  in  order  to  remove 
them  from  too  restricted  a  circle. 

A  world  of  ideas  was  thus  agitating  itself  on  the  common 
wharf,  where  the  merchandise  of  the  whole  world  was  piled  up ; 
but  all  this  was  lost  in  the  tumult  of  a  great  city  of  the  size  of 
London  or  Paris.36  Of  a  truth,  the  haughty  patricians  who,  in 
their  promenades  on  the  Aventine,  cast  their  eyes-  across  the 
Tiber,  did  not  imagine  that  the  future  was  getting  itself  ready 
in  this  pile  of  wretched  houses  at  the  foot  of  the  Janiculum.37 
On  that  day  of  the  reign  of  Claudius  on  which  some  Jews 
initiated  into  the  new  creed  set  foot  on  land  opposite  the  empo- 
rium, —  on  that  day,  no  one  knew  in  Rome  that  the  founder  of 
a  second  empire,  another  Romulus,  was  lodged  at  the  port,  on 
his  bed  of  straw.38  Near  the  port  there  was  a  sort  of  lodgings, 
well  known  to  the  people  and  soldiers,  under  the  name  of  Ta- 
berna  meritoria.  In  order  to  attract  the  bumpkins,  a  pretended 
oil-spring,  issuing  from  a  rock,  was  shown  here.  At  a  very  early 
date,  this  oil-spring  was  regarded  by  the  Christians  as  symboli- 
cal. They  pretended  that  its  appearance  had  coincided  with 
the  birth  of  Jesus.39  It  appears  that  later  they  transformed  the 
Taberna  into  a  church.40  Who  knows  whether  the  most  ancient 
recollections  of  Christianity  are  not  attached  to  this  inn  ?  Under 
Alexander  Severus,  we  see  the  Christians  and  inn-keepers  dis- 
puting for  a  certain  place  which  formerly  had  been  public,  and 
which  this  good  emperor  caused  to  be  adjudged  to  the  Chris- 
tians.41 We  feel  that  this  is  the  native  soil  of  an  old  popular 
Christianity.  Claudius,  about  this  time  struck  with  the  "pro- 


96  SAINT  PAUL. 

gress  of  foreign  superstitions,"  had  believed  himself  to  be  doing 
an  act  of  good  conservative  policy  by  re-establishing  the  Arus- 
pices.  In  a  report  made  to  the  Senate^  he  complained  of  the 
indifference  of  the  times  in  respect  to  the  ancient  usages  of 
Italy,  and  the  good  systems  of  discipline.  The  Senate  had 
invited  the  pontiffs  to  see  which  ones  of  these  old  practices 
could  be  re-established.  Consequently  everything  went  well, 
and  they  believed  these  respectable  frauds  to  be  eternally 
safe. 

The  great  affair  of  the  moment  was  the  coming  of  Agrippina 
to  power,  the  adoption  of  Nero  by  Claudius,  and  his  ever  in- 
creasing fortune.  No  one  thought  of  the  poor  Jew  who  pro- 
nounced the  name  of  Christ  for  the  first  time  in  the  Syrian 
colony,  and  communicated  to  his  room-mates  the  faith  which 
made  him  happy.  Others  soon  arrived.  Letters  from  Syria, 
brought  by  the  new-comers,  spoke  of  the  ever-increasing  move- 
ment. A  little  group  was  formed.  Every  one  smelt  of  garlic.42 
These  ancestors  of  Roman  prelates  were  poor  proletaires,  dirty,  all 
alike  clownish,  clothed  in  filthy  gabardines,  having  the  bad  breath 
of  people  who  live  badly.43  Their  retreats  breathed  that  odor  of 
wretchedness  exhaled  by  persoas  meanly  clothed  and  fed,  and  col- 
lected in  a  small  room.44  They  were  soon  numerous  enough  to 
speak  loud.  They  preached  in  the  ghetto  ;  the  orthodox  Jews  re- 
sisted. That  tumultuous  scenes  should  have  taken  place ;  that 
these  scenes  should  have  been  renewed  several  nights  in  succes- 
sion ;  that  the  Roman  police  should  have  interfered,  and  that,  caring 
very  little  to  know  what  the  trouble  was,  they  should  have  addressed 
a  report  to  the  superior  authority,  and  laid  the  disturbances  at  the 
door  of  one  Chrestus,  whom  they  had  not  been  able  to  arrest ; 
that  the  expulsion  of  the  rioters  should  have  been  decided  upon, 
—  there  is  nothing  in  all  this  but  what  is  very  plausible.  The 
passage  from  Suetonius,  and  still  more  that  from  the  Acts, 
would  appear  to  imply  that  all  the  Jews  were  driven  out  on  this 
occasion ;  but  that  is  not  to  be  supposed.  It  is  probable  that  the 
Christians,  the  partisans  of  the  seditious  Chrestus,  were  alone 


SAINT  PAUL.  97 

driven  out.  Claudius  in  general  favored  the  Jews,  and  it  is  not 
even  impossible  that  the  expulsion  of  the  Christians,  of  which 
we  have  just  been  speaking,  may  have  taken  place  at  the  insti- 
gation of  the  Jews, — of  the  Herods,  for  instance.  These  ex- 
pulsions, moreover,  were  never  more  than  temporary  and  condi- 
tional.45 The  tide,  checked  for  a  moment,  still  flowed  on.46  The 
proceeding  of  Claudius  was,  at  any  rate,  of  little  consequence  ; 
for  Josephus  does  not  speak  of  it,  and,  in  the  year  58,  Rome 
already  had  a  new  Christian  church.47 

The  founders  of  this  first  Church  of  Rome,  destroyed  by 
decree  of  Claudius,  are  unknown.  But  we  know  the  names  of 
two  Jews  who  were  exiled  in  consequence  of  the  disturbances 
at  the  porta  Portese.  They  were  a  pious  couple,  composed  of 
Aquila,  a  Jew,  originally  from  Pontus,  professing  the  same  trade 
as  St.  Paul,  that  of  tent-maker,43  and  Priscilla,  his  wife.  They 
took  refuge  at  Corinth,  where  we  shall  soon  see  them  with  St. 
Paul,  of  whom  they  become  the  intimate  friends  and  zealous 
collaborators.  Aquila  and  Priscilla  are  thus  the  two  earliest 
members  of  the  Church  of  Rome  known  to  us.49  They  are 
scarcely  recollected  by  her.50  Legendary  record,  always  unjust, 
for  it  is  always  influenced  by  political  motives,  has  excluded 
these  two  obscure  artisans  from  the  Christian  pantheon,  in 
order  to  attribute  the  honor  of  founding  the  Church  of  Rome  to 
a  more  illustrious  name,  more  befitting  the  haughty  pretensions 
to  universal  domination,  which  the  capital  of  the  Empire,  when 
it  had  become  Christianized,  could  not  surrender.  In  our  mind, 
it  is  not  at  the  theatrical  Basilica  which  they  have  consecrated 
to  St.  Peter ;  it  is  at  the  porta  Portese,  that  antique  ghetto,  that 
we  in  reality  see  the  starting-point  of  western  Christianity.  It 
should  be  the  footsteps  of  these  poor  Jewish  vagrants,  who 
brought  the  religion  of  the  world  with  them,  —  of  these  men  of 
suffering,  dreaming  in  their  misery  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  that 
they  should  seek  out  and  kiss.  We  do  not  dispute  Rome  her 
essential  title.  Rome  was  probably  the  first  point  in  the 
western  world,  and  even  of  Europe,  where  Christianity  estab- 
9 


98  SAINT  PAUL. 

lished  itself.  But  instead  of  these  lofty  Basilicas,  instead  of  these 
insulting  devices,  Christus  vincit,  Christus  regnat,  Christus 
imperat,  it  would  be  better  to  rear  a  modest  chapel  to  the  two 
good  Jews  from  Pontus  who  were  driven  out  by  the  police  of 
Claudius  for  having  belonged  to  the  party  of  Chrestus  ! 

Next  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  — if  it  was  not  in  reality  first,  — 
the  most  ancient  church  of  the  west  was  that  of  Puteoli.  St. 
Paul  finds  Christians  there  towards  the  year  6i.51  Puteoli  was, 
to  some  extent,  the  port  of  Rome  ; 52  it  was,  at  least,  the  landing- 
place  of  the  Jews  and  Syrians  on  their  way  to  Rome.53  This 
strange  soil,  undermined  by  fire,  these  Phlegrean  fields,  this  sol- 
fatara,  these  caverns  full  of  burning  vapor,  which  seemed  like  the 
air-holes  of  hell,  these  sulphurous  waters,  these  myths  of  giants 
and  demons,  buried  in  valleys  of  fire,  gehenne,  as  it  were,54  these 
baths,  which  appeared  to  the  austere  Jews — enemies  of  all  nudity 
—  the  very  height  of  abomination,  deeply  impressed  the  lively 
imaginations  of  the  new-comers,  and  have  left  a  profound  trace 
in  the  Apocalyptic  compositions  of  the  period.55  The  follies  of 
Caligula,56  marks  of  which  are  to  be  seen,  also  caused  fearful 
recollections  to  hover  over  these  places. 

One  principal  feature,  at  any  rate,  and  one  which  it  behooves 
us  to  mention  already,  is  that  the  Church  of  Rome  was  not,  like 
the  churches  of  Asia  Minor,  Macedonia,  and  Greece,  an  estab- 
lishment of  the  school  of  Paul.  It  was  a  creation  of  the  Jewish 
Christians,  directly  attached  to  the  Church  of  Jerusalem.57  In 
it,  Paul  will  never  be  on  his  own  ground.  He  will  perceive  in 
this  great  church  many  weaknesses  which  he  will  treat  with  in- 
dulgence, but  which  will  wound  his  exalted  idealism.58  Attached 
to  circumcision  and  outward  practices,59  Ebionite60  in  its  taste 
for  abstinences,61  and  in  his  doctrine  rather  Jewish  than  Chris- 
tian, concerning  the  person  and  death  of  Jesus,62  strongly  at- 
tached to  millenarianism,63  the  Roman  church  presents  from  its 
early  days  essential  features  which  will  distinguish  it  in  its  long 
and  wonderful  history.  Direct  offspring  of  Jerusalem,  the 
Roman  Church  will  always  have  an  ascetic,  sacerdotal  character, 


SAINT  PAUL,  99 

opposed  to  the  Protestant  tendency  of  Paul.  Peter  will  be  its 
veritable  chief.  Then,  with  the  political  and  hierarchical  spirit 
of  old  heathen  Rome  penetrating  it,  it  will  truly  become  the 
New  Jerusalem  ;  the  city  of  the  Pontificate,  of  the  hieratic  and 
solemn  religion,  of  material  sacraments  which  are  self-justi- 
fying ;  the  city  of  ascetics  after  the  manner  of  James  Obliam, 
with  his  callous  knees  and  the  blade  of  gold  on  his  forehead. 
It  will  be  the  church  of  authority.  If  we  consult  it,  the  only 
sign  of  the  apostolic  mission  will  be  to  show  a  letter 
signed  by  the  apostles,  to  produce  a  certificate  of  ortho- 
doxy.64 The  good  and  the  evil  done  by  the  Church  of  Jeru- 
salem to  growing  Christianity  will  be  done  to  the  church 
universal,  by  the  Church  of  Rome.  In  vain  will  St.  Paul  address 
her  his  beautiful  epistle,  to  explain  to  her  the  mystery  of  the 
cross  of  Jesus,  and  of  safety  through  faith  alone.  This  epistle 
will  be  but  slightly  understood  by  the  Church  of  Rome.  But 
Luther,  fourteen  centuries  and  a  half  later,  will  understand  it, 
and  will  open  a  new  era  in  the  secular  series  of  the  alternative 
triumphs  of  Peter  and  Paul. 


TOO  SAINT  PAUL. 


CHAPTER  V. 

SECOND   JOURNEY   OF    ST.    PAUL. — ANOTHER   SOJOURN   IN 
GALATIA. 

No  sooner  had  Paul  returned  to  Antioch  than  he  set  about 
forming  new  plans.  His  ardent  soul  could  not  bear  repose. 
On  the  one  hand,  he  thought  of  enlarging  the  rather  contracted 
sphere  of  his  first  mission ;  on  the  other  hand,  his  revisiting  his 
loved  churches  of  Galatia,  in  order  to  confirm  them  in  the  faith,1 
occupied  his  mind  incessantly.  The  tenderness  of  which  this 
strange  nature  appeared  in  some  respects  to  be  destitute,  had 
transformed  itself  into  a  powerful  faculty  of  loving  the  commu- 
nities which  he  had  established.  He  had  for  his  churches  the 
feelings  which  other  men  have  for  that  which  they  love  the 
most.2  This  was  a  special  gift  of  the  Jews.  The  spirit  of 
association  possessed  by  them  in  over-abundance,  caused  them 
to  give  entirely  new  applications  to  the  idea  of  family.  The 
synagogue,  the  church,  were  then  what  the  convent  was  to  be  in 
the  middle  ages,  —  the  loved  house,  the  home  of  great  affections, 
the  roof  that  shelters  what  we  hold  most  dear.  Paul  commu- 
nicated his  design  to  Barnabas.  But  the  friendship  of  the  two 
apostles,  which,  up  to  that  time,  had  resisted  the  strongest  trials, 
that  no  susceptibility  of  self-love,  no  caprice  of  character,  had 
been  able  to  diminish,  received  this  time  a  cruel  blow.  Barna- 
bas proposed  to  Paul  to  take  John-Mark  with  them.  Paul 
was  angered.  He  had  not  pardoned  John-Mark  for  having 
abandoned  the  first  mission  at  Perga,  at  the  moment  in  which 
it  was  entering  upon  the  most  perilous  portion  of  the  voyage. 
The  man  who  had  once  refused  to  enter  upon  the  work  appeared 
to  him  unworthy  of  being  enrolled  again.  Barnabas  defended 
his  cousin,  whose  intentions  probably  Paul  in  reality  judged 
with  too  much  severity.  The  quarrel  assumed  considerable 


SAINT  PAUL.  10 1 

liveliness.  It  was  impossible  to  come  to  an  understanding.8 
This  old  friendship,  which  had  been  the  result  of  the  evangelical 
preaching,  yielded  for  a  time  to  an  insignificant  question  of  per- 
sons. The  truth  is,  we  are  allowed  to  suppose  that  the  rupture 
had  profounder  reasons.  It  is  miraculous  that  Paul's  ever  in- 
creasing pretensions,  his  pride,  his  need  of  being  absolute  chief, 
should  not  have  .already  twenty  times  destroyed  the  connections 
of  two  men  whose  reciprocal  situation  was  entirely  changed. 
Barnabas  had  not  Paul's  genius,  but  who  can  say  whether  in 
the  true  hierarchy  of  souls,  which  is  regulated  by  the  degree  of 
goodness,  he  would  not  occupy  a  more  elevated  rank  ?  When 
we  recall  what  Barnabas  had  been  to  Paul ;  when  we  think  that 
it  was  he  who  at  Jerusalem,  silenced  the  rather  well-founded 
distrust  of  which  the  new  convert  was  the  object ;  who  went 
to  Tarsus  for  the  future  apostle,  still  isolated  and  undecided  as 
to  his  course  ;  who  introduced  him  into  the  young  and  active 
world  of  Antioch ;  who,  in  a  word,  made  him  an  apostle ;  we 
cannot  prevent  ourselves  from  seeing  in  this  rupture,  based  upon 
a  motive  of  secondary  importance,  a  great  act  of  ingratitude  on 
the  part  of  Paul.  But  the  exigencies  of  his  work  were  pressing 
hard  upon  him.  Who  is  the  man  of  action  that  once  in  his 
life  has  not  committed  a  great  error  of  heart  ? 

The  two  apostles,  therefore,  separated.  Barnabas,  with  John- 
Mark,  embarked  at  Seleucia  for  Cyprus.4  Henceforth,  history 
loses  sight  of  his  itinerary.  While  Paul  is  marching  on  to  glory, 
his  companion,  obscure  the  moment  he  left  the  side  of  him  who 
lighted  him  up  with  his  rays,  wears  himself  out  in  the  labors  of 
an  unknown  apostolate.  The  enormous  injustice  which  often 
rules  the  affairs  of  this  world,  presides  over  history  as  over  all 
the  rest.  Those  who  take  the  roles  of  devotion  and  mildness 
are  generally  forgotten.  The  author  of  the  Acts,  with  his  frank 
policy  of  conciliation,  has,  without  wishing  it,  sacrificed  Barna- 
bas to  the  desire  that  he  had  of  reconciling  Peter  and  Paul. 
Through  a  sort  of  instinctive  need  of  amends,  diminishing  and 
subordinating  Paul  on  the  one  hand,  he  magnified  him  on  the 
9* 


102  SAINT  PAUL. 

other,  at  the  expense  of  a  modest  collaborator  who  had  no 
particular  rdle,  and  who  did  not  weigh  upon  history  with  the 
iniquitous  weight  which  results  from  the  arrangement  of  parties. 
Hence  arises  the  ignorance  in  which  we  are  concerning  the 
apostolate  of  Barnabas.  We  merely  know  that  this  apostolate 
I  continued  to  be  active.  Barnabas  remained  true  to  the  great 
principles  which  he  and  Paul  had  established  in  their  first  mis- 
sion. He  took  no  companion  in  his  wanderings ;  he  always 
lived  by  his  own  labor,  accepting  nothing  from  the  churches.5 
He  will  meet  Paul  again  at  Antioch.  The  haughty  disposition 
of  Paul  will  again  give  rise  to  more  than  one  dissension  between 
them,6  but  the  feeling  for  the  holy  work  will  prevail  over  all ; 
the  connection  between  the  two  apostles  will  remain  entire. 
Each  one  working  on  his  side,  they  will  remain  in  correspon- 
dence with  each  other,  asking  information  mutually  concerning 
their  labors.7  In  spite  of  the  great  dissensions,  Paul  will  continue 
to  treat  Barnabas  as  a  colleague,  and  to  consider  him  as  sharing 
with  him  in  the  work  of  the  Gentile  apostolate.8  Quick,  pas- 
sionate, susceptible,  Paul  soon  forgot,  when  the  great  principles 
to  which  he  devoted  his  life  were  not  in  question. 

In  place  of  Barnabas,  Paul  took  for  a  companion,  Silas,  the 
prophet  of  the  church  of  Jerusalem,  who  had  remained  at 
Antioch.  He  did  not  regret,  in  default  of  John-Mark,  having 
with  him  another  member  of  the  church  of  Jerusalem,  one  who 
was  apparently  related  to  Peter.9  Silas  possessed,  it  is  said,  the 
title  of  Roman  citizen,10  a  fact  which,  in  conjunction  with  his 
name  of  Silvanus,  would  lead  us  to  believe  that  he  was  not  from 
Judea ;  or,  that  he  had  had  occasion  to  familiarize  himself  with 
the  heathen  world.  Both  set  out  recommended  by  the  brethren 
to  the  grace  of  God.  Forms  were  not  empty  then.  They 
believed  that  the  finger  of  God  was  everywhere,  that  every 
step  of  the  apostles  of  the  new  kingdom  was  directed  by  the 
immediate  inspiration  of  heaven. 

Paul  and  Silas  made  the  journey  by  land.11  Inclining  toward 
the  north,  through  the  plains  of  Antioch,  they  crossed  the  de- 


SAINT  PAUL.  103 

file  of  the  Amahus  and  the  "Syrian  Gates";12  then  skirting 
the  interior  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Issus,  and  crossing  the  north- 
ern branch  of  the  Amanus  by  the  "  Gates  of  Amanides,"  u  they 
traversed  Cilicia ;  passed  probably  by  way  of  Tarsus ;  crossed 
the  Taurus  without  doubt  by  the  celebrated  "  Cilician  Gates,"  " 
one  of  the  most  frightful  mountain  passes  in  the  world;  pene- 
trated thus  into  Lycaonia,  and  reached  Derbe,  Lystra,  and 
Iconitim.  Paul  found  his  loved  churches  in  the  state  in  which 
he  had  left  them.  The  faithful  had  persevered;  their  number 
had  increased.  Timothy,  who  was  only  a  child  at  the  period  of 
his  first  journey,  had  become  an  excellent  subject.  His  youth, 
his  piety,  and  his  intelligence  pleased  Paul.  All  the  faithful  ones 
of  Lycaonia  gave  him  the  best  character.  Paul  became  attached 
to  him,  loved  him  tenderly,  and  always  found  a  zealous  collabo- 
rator in  him,15  or  rather  a  son  ('tis  Paul  himself  who  uses  this 
expression.)16  Timothy  was  a  man  of  great  candor,  modest 
and  timid.17  He  had  not  sufficient  confidence  to  face  great 
responsibilities.  He  lacked  authority,  above  all  in  Greek 
countries,  where  the  minds  were  trifling  and  light ; 1S  but  his  self- 
denial  made  him  a  deacon  and  secretary,  invaluable  for  Paul. 
Therefore  Paul  declares  that  he  has  no  other  disciple  so  com- 
pletely after  his  own  heart.19  Impartial  history  is  forced  to  take, 
for  the  profit  of  Timothy  and  Barnabas,  some  of  the  glory 
engrossed  by  the  too  absorbing  personality  of  Paul. 

Paul,  in  attaching  himself  to  Timothy,  foresaw  grave  embar- 
rassments. He  feared  that,  in  his  connection  with  the  Jews,  the 
fact  of  Timothy  not  being  circumcised  might  be  a  cause  of 
repulsion  and  trouble.  In  fact,  it  was  everywhere  known  that 
his  father  was  a  heathen.  A  number  of  timorous  persons  might 
not  wish  to  have  any  connection  with  him.  The  quarrels  which 
the  interview  at  Jerusalem  had  scarcely  settled,  might  break  out 
again.  Paul  recollected  the  difficulties  he  had  experienced  with 
regard  to  Titus.  He  resolved  to  prevent  them,  and  in  order  to 
avoid  being  obliged  at  a  later  period  to  make  a  concession  to 
principles  which  he  rejected,  he  circumcised  Timothy20  himself. 


104  SAINT  PAUL. 

This  was  in  conformity  with  the  principles  which  guided  him  in 
the  affair  of  Titus,21  and  which  he  still  professed.22  They  could 
never  have  influenced  him  to  acknowledge  that  circumcision 
was  necessary,  in  order  to  be  saved.  In  his  opinion  this  was 
an  error  in  faith.  But  circumcision  not  being  a  bad  thing,  he 
thought  that  it  might  be  practised  in  order  to  avoid  scandal  and 
schism.  His  great  rule  was  that  the  apostle  should  be  all  things 
\o  all  men,  and  bend  to  the  prejudices  of  those  whom  he  wishes 
to  gain  over,  when  these  prejudices  are  of  themselves  frivolous 
and  in  no  wise  reprehensible.  But,  at  the  same  time,  as  if  he 
had  a  presentiment  of  the  trials  which  the  faith  of  the  Galatians 
would  have  to  suffer,  he  made  them  promise  never  to  listen  to 
any  other  doctor  excepting  himself,  and  to  reject  as  accursed 
every  other  teaching  but  his.23 

From  Iconium  Paul  probably  went  to  Antioch  of  Pisidia,24 
and  thus  finished  visiting  the  principal  churches  of  Galatia, 
established  at  the  time  of  his  first  journey.  He  then  resolved25 
to  visit  new  lands,  but  great  hesitation  took  possession  of  him. 
The  thought  of  attempting  the  west  of  Asia  Minor,  that  is  to  say, 
the  province  of  Asia,26  suggested  itself  to  his  mind.  There  was 
most  life  in  this  part  of  Asia  Minor.  Ephesus  was  the  capital  of  it. 
Here  were  situated  those  beautiful  and  flourishing  cities  of  Smyr- 
na, Pergamos,  Magnesia,  Thyatira,  Sardis,  Philadelphia,  Colossae, 
Laodicea,  Hierapolis,  Tralles,  and  Miletus,  where  Christianity 
was  about  to  establish  its  centre.  We  are  ignorant  of  what 
dissuaded  St.  Paul  from  carrying  his  efforts  in  this  direction. 
"  The  Holy  Spirit,"  says  the  narrator  of  the  Acts,  "  prevented 
him  from  preaching  in  Asia."  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  apostles,  in  regard  to  the  direction  of  their  courses,  were 
supposed  to  obey  inspirations  from  above.  At  times  there  were 
real  motives,  reflections,  or  positive  indications,  disguised  in  this 
form  of  language ;  at  others,  there  was  an  absence  of  motives. 
The  opinion  that  God  divulges  his  will  to  man  through  the 
medium  of  dreams  was  widely  spread,27  as  it  is  still  in  our  day, 
throughout  the  Orient.  A  dream,  a  sudden  impulsion,  an 


X.I  INT  PAUL.  105 

unreflccted  movement,  unexplained  noise  (]bathk6l)J*  appeared 
to  them  to  be  manifestations  of  the  Spirit,  and  decided  the 
direction  of  the  preaching.29  Certain  it  is,  however,  that  from 
Antioch  of  Pisidia,  instead  of  directing  their  steps  towards  the 
brilliant  provinces  of  the  south-west  of  Asia  Minor,  Paul  and  his 
companions  penetrated  more  and  more  towards  the  centre  of 
the  Peninsula,  formed  of  provinces  much  less  celebrated  and 
less  civilized.  They  crossed  Phrygia  Epictetus,30  probably 
passing  by  way  of  the  cities  of  Synnades  and  ^Kzanes,  and 
reached  the  confines  of  Mysia.  Here  their  indecision  recom- 
menced. Should  they  turn  northward  towards  Bithyrria,  or 
should  they  continue  towards  the  west  and  enter  Mysia  ?  They 
endeavored  at  first  to  enter  Bithynia,  but  untoward  incidents 
took  place  which  they  regarded  as  indications  of  the  will  of 
heaven.  They  imagined  that  the  spirit  of  Jesus  did  not  wish 
them  to  enter  this  latter  country.31  They  therefore  crossed 
Mysia,  from  one  end  to  another,  and  arrived  at  Alexandria 
Troas,32  a  considerable  port,  situated  almost  opposite  Tenedos, 
and  not  far  from  the  site  of  ancient  Troy.  The  apostolic  group 
thus  made  almost  in  a  single  trip  a  journey  of  more  than  one 
hundred  leagues,  across  a  country  which,  from  an  absence  of 
Roman  colonies  and  Jewish  synagogues,  did  not  offer  them  any 
of  the  facilities  which  they  had  met  with  up  to  that  period. 

These  long  journeys  in  Asia  Minor,  full  of  pleasant  ennuis 
and  of  dreamy  mystery,  are  a  singular  medley  of  sadness  and 
charm.  Frequently  the  route  is  rude.  Certain  districts  are 
singularly  rough  and  bare.  Other  portions,  on  the  contrary,  are 
full  of  freshness,  and  in  no  wise  correspond  to  the  ideas  that 
one  is  accustomed  to  attach  to  that  vague  word  Orient. 

The  mouth  of  the  Orontes  draws,  in  respect  to  nature  as  well 
as  with  regard  to  races,  a  profound  line  of  demarcation.  Asia 
Minor,  from  the  aspect  and  tone  of  the  landscape,  reminds  us  of 
Italy,  or  our  south  as  high  up  as  Valence  and  Avignon.  The 
European  is  nowise  out  of  his  latitude,  as  in  Syria  and  Egypt.  It 
is,  if  I  may  presume  to  express  it  so,  an  Aryan  and  not  a 


io6  SAINT  PAUL. 

Semitic  country,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  it  may  some  day 
be  occupied  again  by  the  Indo-European  race  (Greeks  and 
Armenians).  Water  is  abundant  there :  the  cities  are  inundated 
with  it.  Certain  points,  such  as  Nymphi,  Magnesia  of  the  Sipylus, 
are  truly  paradise-like.  The  terraced  plan  of  the  mountains, 
which  shut  in  the  horizon  on  all  sides,  presents  varieties  of  infinite 
forms,  and  at  times  fantastic  shapes  which  one  would  consider 
imaginary,  if  the  artist  dared  to  imitate  them ;  summits  toothed 
liked  a  saw,  torn  and  creased  sides,  strange  cones,  and  perpen- 
dicular walls,  where  the  beauties  of  the  stone  display  themselves 
with  brilliancy.  Thanks  to  these  numerous  chains  of  mountains, 
the  waters  are  running  and  sparkling.  Long  rows  of  poplars, 
little  plane-trees  in  the  broad  beds  of  the  winter  torrents,  and 
splendid  clusters  of  trees,  the  feet  of  which  plunge  into  the 
springs,  while  the  dark  tufts  project  from  the  base  of  every 
mountain,  are  the  consolation  of  the  traveller.  At  every 
spring  the  caravan  halts  and  drinks.  Walking  day  after  day  on 
these  narrow  lines33  of  ancient  pavements,  which  for  centuries 
have  borne  such  different  travellers,  is  at  times  fatiguing,  but  the 
halts  are  delicious.  An  hour's  repose,  a  piece  of  bread  eaten 
on  the  borders  of  these  limpid  streams  coursing  over  pebbly 
beds,  sustain  you  for  a  long  while. 

At  Troas,  Paul,  who  in  this  part  of  his  journey  does  not 
appear  to  have  followed  any  very  fixed  plan,  fell  into  new 
uncertainty  as  to  the  route  which  he  should  choose.  Macedonia 
appeared  to  promise  him  a  fine  harvest.  It  would  seem  that  he 
was  confirmed  in  this  idea  by  a  Macedonian  whom  he  met  at 
Troas.  He  was  a  physician,  an  uncircumcised  proselyte,34  by  the 
name  of  Lucanus  or  Lucas.35  This  Latin  name  would  lead  us 
to  believe  that  the  new  disciple  belonged  to  the  Roman  colony 
at  Philippi.38  His  rare  knowledge  in  respect  to  nautical  geogra- 
phy and  navigation,  would,  nevertheless,  rather  lead  us  to  think 
that  he  was  from  Neapolis.  The  ports,  and  all  the  coast  of  the 
Mediterranean,  appear  to  have  been  remarkably  familiar  to  him. 

This  man,  for  whom  was  reserved  so  important  a  rule  in  the 


SAINT  PAUL.  107 

history  of  Christianity,  as  he  was  destined  to  be  the  historian  of 
the  Origins  of  Christianity,  and  his  judgments  were,  by  imposing 
themselves  upon  the  future,  to  regulate  the  ideas  to  be  formed 
concerning  the  early  days  of  the  church,  had  received  a  rather 
careful  Jewish  and  Hellenic  education.  His  disposition  was 
mild  and  conciliating,  his  soul  tender  and  sympathetic,  his 
character  modest  and  given  to  self-denial.  Paul  loved  him 
much ;  and  Luke,  on  his  part,  was  always  faithful  to  his  master.87 
Like  Timothy,  Luke  seemed  to  have  been  created  expressly  to 
be  the  companion  of  Paul.38  Blind  submission  and  confidence, 
boundless  admiration,  inclination  to  obedience,  and  unreserved 
devotion,  were  his  habitual  characteristics.  We  might  say,  that 
it  was  even  then  a  specimen  of  that  absolute  abdication  of  self 
existing  in  the  Irish  monk,  when  in  the  hands  of  his  abbey.39 
The  idea  of  the  "disciple"  was  never  so  perfectly  realized. 
Luke  is  in  reality  fascinated  by  the  ascendancy  of  Paul.  His  good- 
nature, as  man  of  the  people,  displays  itself  continually;  his 
imagination  always  pictures  to  him,  as  model  of  perfection  and 
happiness,  that  honest  man,  the  real  master  in  his  family,  of  which 
he  resembles  the  spiritual  father ;  a  Jew  at  heart,  accepting  the 
faith  with  his  whole  house.40  He  liked  the  Roman  officers,  and 
willingly  believed  them  virtuous.  One  of  the  things  he  admires 
most  is  a  good  centurion, — pious,  kind  to  the  Jews,  well  served, 
and  well  obeyed.41  He  had  probably  studied  the  Roman  army 
at  Philippi,  and  was  impressed  by  it.  He  naively  supposed  that 
discipline  and  hierarchy  are  things  of  moral  order.  His  esteem 
for  the  Roman  functionaries  is  also  great.42  His  title  of  physi- 
cian43 implies  that  he  had  learning,  a  fact  proved  by  his  writings ; 
but  does  not  imply  a  scientific  and  rational  culture,  which  few 
physicians  then  possessed. 

What  Luke  is,  pre-eminently,  is  "  the  man  of  good-will,"  the 
true  Israelite  at  heart,  one  to  whom  Jesus  brings  peace.  It  is 
he  who  has  transmitted  to  us  and  who  probably  composed  those 
delicious  canticles  of  the  birth  and  infancy  of  Jesus,  those  angel 
hymns  of  Mary,  of  Zacharias,  of  the  old  Simeon,  in  which  burst 


lo8  SAINT  PAUL. 

forth  in  sounds  so  clear  and  so  joyful  the  happiness  of  the  new 
alliance,  the  hosanna  of  the  pious  proselyte,  the  re-established 
concord  between  the  fathers  and  the  sons  in  the  increased  family 
of  Israel.44 

Everything  leads  us  to  believe  that  Luke  was  moved  by  the 
Divine  grace  at  Troas ;  that  he  immediately  attached  himself  to 
Paul,  and  persuaded  him  that  he  would  find  an  excellent  field  in 
Macedonia.  His  words  made  a  great  impression  on  the  apostle. 
The  latter  thought  he  saw,  in  a  dream,  a  Macedonian  standing 
and  inviting  him,  saying,  "Come  over  and  help  us."  It  was 
reported  in  the  apostolic  troupe  that  God  had  ordered  them  to 
go  into  Macedonia,  and  that  they  should  only  wait  for  a  favor* 
ble  occasion  to  set  out.45 


SAINT  PAUL.  109 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CONTINUATION    OF   THE    SECOND    JOURNEY  OF   ST.  PAUL. MIS- 
SION  OF   MACEDONIA. 

HERE  the  mission  landed  upon  entirely  new  countries.  It  was 
what  they  called  the  province  of  Macedonia.  But  these  countries 
had  only  formed  part  of  the  Macedonian  kingdom  since  Philip. 
They  were  in  reality  parts  of  Thrace,  anciently  colonized  by 
the  Greeks,  then  absorbed  by  the  strong  monarchy,  the  centre 
of  which  was  at  Pella,  and  since  two  hundred  years  a  portion 
of  the  great  Roman  unity.  Few  countries  in  the  world  were 
purer  in  regard  to  race  than  these  countries,  situated  between 
the  Haemus  and  the  Mediterranean.  Different  branches,  in 
truth,  but  very  authentic  ones,  of  the  Indo-European  family 
were  here  superimposed  upon  one  another.  If  we  except  a 
few  Phenician  influences  coming  from  Thasos  and  Samothrace, 
almost  nothing  foreign  had  penetrated  into  the  interior.  Thrace, 
in  a  great  portion  Celtic,1  had  remained  faithful  to  Aryan  life. 
It  kept  its  ancient  religions  under  a  form  which  appeared  bar- 
barous to  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  but  which  in  reality  was 
only  primitive.  As  to  Macedonia,  it  was  perhaps  the  most 
honest,  most  earnest,  most  healthy  region  of  the  ancient 
world.  It  was  originally  a  country  of  feudal  burgs,  not  of  large, 
independent  cities.  Now,  this  is  of  all  systems  the  one  which 
preserves  human  morality  the  best,  and  reserves  the  most 
strength  for  the  future.  Monarchical,  through  solidity  of  spirit 
and  self-denial,  full  of  antipathy  for  the  charlatanism  and  often 
sterile  agitation  of  the  petty  republics,  the  Macedonians  offered 
Greece  a  type  of  society  similar  to  that  of  the  middle  ages, 
founded  upon  loyalism,  upon  faith  in  legitimacy  and  hereditary 
rights,  and  upon  the  spirit  of  conservatism,  equally  far  removed 
from  the  ignominious  despotism  of  the  Orient  and  of  this  demo- 
10 


no  SAINT  PAUL. 

cratic  fever  which,  burning  the  blood  of  the  people,  so  quickly 
consumes  those  who  abandon  themselves  to  it.  Thus,  freed 
from  the  causes  of  social  corruption,  which  democracy  almost 
always  brings  along  with  it,  and,  nevertheless,  free  from  the  iron 
chains  which  Sparta  had  invented  to  fortify  herself  against 
revolution,  the  Macedonians  were  that  people  of  antiquity  who 
most  resembled  the  Romans.  They  remind  one,  in  some 
respects,  of  the  German  barons, — brave,  drunken,  rude,  proud, 
and  faithful.  If  they  only  realized  for  a  moment  what  the 
Romans  knew  how  to  establish  in  a  durable  manner,  they  at 
least  had  the  honor  of  surviving  their  attempt.  The  little 
kingdom  of  Macedonia,  without  factions  or  seditions,  with  a 
good  internal  administration,  was  the  most  stable  nationality 
which  the  Romans  had  to  combat  against  in  the  Orient.  A 
strong  patriotic  and  legitimistic  spirit  reigned  there  to  such  a 
degree,  that,  after  their  defeats,  the  inhabitants  were  seen  to 
take  fire  with  a  wonderful  facility  for  impostors  pretending  to 
continue  their  ancient  dynasty. 

Under  the  Romans,  Macedonia  remained  a  worthy  and  pure 
land.  She  furnished  Brutus  two  excellent  legions.2  One  did 
not  see  the  Macedonians,  like  the  Syrians,  Egyptians,  and 
Asiatics,  hasten  to  Rome  to  enrich  themselves  on  the  fruits 
of  their  bad  practices.  In  spite  of  the  terrible  substitutions  of 
races  which  took  place,3  it  may  be  said  that  Macedonia  has  still 
preserved  the  same  character.  It  is  a  country  placed  in  the 
normal  conditions  of  European  life,  wooded,  fertile,  watered  by 
large  streams,  having  internal  sources  of  riches ;  while  Greece, 
meagre,  poor,  singular  in  everything,  has  only  its  glory  and  its 
beauty.  A  land  of  miracles,  like  Judea  and  Sinai,  Greece  has 
flourished  once ;  but  it  is  not  susceptible  of  flourishing  again. 
It  has  created  something  unique,  which  it  were  impossible  to 
renew.  It  appears  that  when  God  shows  himself  in  a  country, 
He  dries  it  up  forever.  A  land  of  klephtes  and  artists,  Greece 
has  no  longer  any  original  role  on  that  day  on  which  the  world 
enters  upon  the  path  of  riches,  industry,  and  ample  perfection. 


SAIAT  PAUL.  Ill 

She  only  produced  genius ;  and  one  is  astonished,  in  going  over 
it,  that  a  powerful  race  should  have  been  able  to  live  upon  this 
heap  of  arid  mountains,  in  the  midst  of  which  a  valley,  with 
some  humidity,  a  little  plain  of  a  kilometre,  gives  rise  to  the  cry 
of  miracle.  Never  was  the  opposition  that  exists  between 
opulence  and  high  art  so  plainly  visible.  Macedonia,  on  the 
contrary,  will  some  day  resemble  Switzerland  or  the  south  of 
Germany.  Its  villages  are  gigantic  tufts  of  trees ;  it  has  every- 
thing necessary  to  become  a  country  of  high  culture,  of  great 
industry :  namely,  vast  plains,  rich  mountains,  green  fields,  ex- 
tensive aspects,  very  different  from  those  charming  little  laby- 
rinths of  the  Grecian  situation.  Gloomy  and  grave,  the  Mace- 
donian peasant  has  none  of  the  braggadocio  and  trifling  spirit 
of  the  Hellenic  peasant.  The  women,  beautiful  and  chaste, 
work  in  the  fields  like  the  men.  One  would  say  that  they  are 
a  people  of  Protestant  peasants.  They  are  a  good,  strong  race, 
laborious,  sedentary,  loving  their  country,  and  full  of  promise 
for  the  future. 

Embarking  at  Troas,  Paul  and  his  companions  —  Silas, 
Timothy,  and  probably  Luke  —  sailing  before  the  wind,  touched 
the  first  evening  at  Samothrace,  and  the  next  day  landed  at 
Neapolis,4  a  city  situated  on  a  little  promontory  opposite  the  isle 
of  Thasos.  Neapolis  was  the  port  of  the  large  city  of  Philippi, 
situated  three  leagues  farther  in  the  interior.5  This  was  the 
point  where  the  Egnatian  road,  which  crossed  Macedonia  and 
Thrace  from  west  to  east,  touched  the  sea.  Taking  this  road, 
which  they  were  not  to  leave  until  they  reached  Thessalonica, 
the  apostles  mounted  the  staircase  paved  and  cut  in  the  rock 
which  overlooks  Neapolis,  crossed  the  little  chain  of  mountains 
which  forms  the  coast,  and  entered  upon  the  beautiful  plain,  in 
the  centre  of  which  the  city  of  Philippi6  looms  up  on  an 
advanced  promontory  of  the  mountain. 

This  rich  plain,  the  lowest  portion  of  which  is  covered  with  a 
lake  and  marshes,  communicates  with  the  basin  of  the  Strymon, 
behind  the  Pangaeus.  The  gold  mines,  which,  in  the  Hellenic 


112  SAINT  PAUL. 

and  Macedonian  period,  had  made  the  reputation  of  the 
country,  were  now  almost  abandoned.  But  the  military  impor- 
tance of  the  position  of  Philippi,7  locked  between  the  mountain 
and  the  marsh,  had  given  it  a  new  life.  The  battle,  which, 
ninety-four  years  before  the  arrival  of  the  Christian  missionaries, 
had  been  fought  at  its  gates,  was  for  it  the  cause  of  an  un- 
expected splendor.8  Augustus  had  established  one  of  the  most 
considerable  of  the  Roman  colonies  there,  with  the  jus  itali- 
cum?  The  city  was  much  more  Latin  than  Greek.  The  Latin 
was  the  common  language  there.  The  religions  of  Latium 
seemed  to  have  been  transported  thither  in  their  entirety.  The 
surrounding  plain,  sown  with  burgs,  was,  at  the  epoch  of  which 
we  are  now  speaking,  likewise  a  sort  of  Roman  canton  thrown 
nto  the  heart  of  Thrace.10  The  colony  was  assigned  to  the 
Voltinia11  tribe.  It  had  been  principally  formed  from  the  debris 
of  Antony's  party,  which  Augustus  had  cantoned  in  these  lati- 
tudes. There  were  portions  of  the  old  Thracian  stock  mingled 
with  them.12  At  any  rate,  they  were  a  very  laborious  and 
religious  people,13  living  in  order  and  peace.  The  brotherhoods 
were  flourishing  there,  particularly  under  the  patronage  of  the 
god  Silvanus,14  who  was  considered  a  sort  of  tutelary  genius  of 
the  Latin  rule.15  The  mysteries  of  the  Thracian  Bacchus16 
covered  elevated  ideas  on  immortality,  and  rendered  familiar  to 
the  population  the  images  of  a  future  life  and  idyllic  Paradise, 
very  similar  to  those  which  Christianity  was  to  spread.17  Poly- 
theism was,  in  these  countries,  less  complicated  than  elsewhere. 
The  religion  of  Sabazius,  common  in  Thrace  and  Phrygia,  in 
close  connection  with  ancient  Orphism,  and  attached  again 
through  the  syncretism  of  the  period  to  the  Dionysian  mysteries, 
contained  germs  of  Monotheism.18  A  certain  taste  for  infantile 
simplicity19  prepared  the  way  for  the  Gospel.  Everything 
points  to  honest,  earnest,  and  mild  customs.  One  feels  himself 
in  an  atmosphere  similar  to  that  which  gave  birth  to  the  bucolic 
and  sentimental  poetry  of  Virgil.  The  plain,  ever  verdant,  pre- 
sented the  varied  cultivation  of  vegetables  and  flowers.20  Fine 


SAINT  PAUL.  113 

springs,  gushing  out  from  the  foot  of  the  mountain  of  golden 
marble,  spread,  when  well-directed,  richness,  shade,  and  fresh- 
ness. Groups  of  poplars,  willows,  fig-trees,  cherry-trees,  and 
wild  vines  breathing  out  the  most  delicious  odor,  hide  the 
streams  which  flow  on  every  side.  Elsewhere,  fields  inundated, 
or  covered  with  high  reeds,  contained  herds  of  buffalo,  with  dull 
white  eyes  and  enormous  horns,  their  heads  alone  above  the 
water;  while  bees,  and  swarms  of  black  and  blue  butterflies 
whirl  about  the  flowers.  The  Pangseus,  with  its  majestic  sum- 
mits covered  with  snow  till  the  month  of  June,  advances  as  if 
to  cross  the  marsh  and  join  the  city.  Beautiful  chains  of  moun- 
tains close  in  the  horizon  on  all  the  other  sides,  only  leaving 
one  opening,  through  which  the  sky  escapes  and  shows  us,  in 
the  clear  distance,  the  basin  of  the  Strymon.  Philippi  offered 
the  mission  a  most  suitable  field.  We  have  already  seen  how, 
in  Galatia,  the  Roman  colonies  of  Antioch  of  Pisidia  and 
Iconium  had  very  favorably  received  the  new  doctrine.  We 
shall  observe  the  same  thing  at  Corinth,  and  Alexandria  5 
Troas.  The  populations,  undisturbed  for  a  long  period  with 
extensive  local  traditions,  showed  themselves  less  anxious  for 
novelties.  The  Jewry  of  Philippi,  if  there  was  one,  was  incon- 
siderable. Everything  was  confined,  probably,  to  the  women 
celebrating  the  Sabbath.  Even  in  cities  where  there  were  no 
Jews,  the  Sabbath  was  generally  celebrated  by  a  few  persons.21 
At  any  rate,  it  appears  that  there  was  no  synagogue  there.22  It 
was  the  first  of  the  week  when  the  apostolic  troupe  entered  the 
city.  Paul,  Silas,  Timothy,  and  Luke  remained  a  few  days 
within  doors,  waiting,  as  usual,  for  the  Sabbath.  Luke,  who 
knew  the  country,  recollected  that  those  converted  to  Jewish 
customs  were  in  the  habit  of  coming  together  on  that  day,  out- 
side the  suburbs,  on  the  borders  of  a  little  river  much  em- 
banked, which  flows  out  of  the  ground  at  a  league  and  a  half 
from  the  city,  causing  an  enormous  boiling  spring,  and  called 
Gangas  or  Gangitcs.™  Probably  this  was  the  ancient  Aryan 
name  of  the  sacred  rivers  (Ganga).u  But  certain  it  is  that  the 
10* 


JI4  SAINT  PAUL. 

peaceful  scene  related  in  the  Acts,  and  which  marked  the  first 
establishment  of  Christianity  in  Macedonia,  took  place  on  the 
very  spot,  where,  a  century  before,  the  fate  of  the  world  had 
been  decided.25  The  Gangites  marked,  in  the  great  battle  of 
the  year  42  B.  c.,  the  front  of  the  line  of  Brutus  and  Cassius. 

In  the  cities  where  there  was  no  synagogue,  the  reunions  of 
those  affiliated  to  Judaism  took  place  in  small,  roofless  buildings, 
or  frequently  simply  in  the  open  air,  in  spaces  hardly  enclosed, 
called  proseucha.™  They  liked  these  oratories  near  the  sea  or 
rivers,  in  order  to  have  facilities  for  ablutions.27  The  apostles 
went  to  the  place  indicated.  Several  women  went  there,  in 
fact,  to  make  their  devotions.  The  apostles  spoke  to  them  and 
announced  the  mystery  of  Jesus  to  them.  They  listened  atten- 
tively. One  woman,  especially,  was  moved.  "The  Lord,"  says 
the  narrator  of  the  Acts,  "  opened  her  heart."  They  called  her 
Lydia,  or  "  The  Lydian,"  because  she  was  from  Thyatira.28  She 
was  trading  in  one  of  the  principal  products  of  Lydian  industry,29 
namely,  purple.  She  was  a  pious  person,  of  that  order  called 
"  devout,"  that  is  to  say,  a  heathen  by  birth,  but  observing  the 
precepts  termed  "  Noachian."30  She  had  herself  and  her  whole 
household  baptized,  and  was  not  satisfied  until  she  had  per- 
suaded the  four  missionaries  to  abide  with  her.  They  re- 
mained there  several  weeks,  teaching  every  Saturday  at  the 
place  of  prayers,  on  the  borders  of  the  Gangites. 

A  little  church,  almost  wholly  composed  of  women,31  very 
pious,  very  obedient,  and  very  devoted  to  Paul,32  was  established. 
Beside  Lydia,  this  church  numbered  among  the  members,  Euo- 
dias  and  Syntyche,33  who  fought  bravely  with  the  apostle  for  the 
Gospel,  but  who  disputed  among  themselves  sometimes  in  rela- 
tion to  their  office  as  deaconesses ; 34  Epaphroditus,  a  courageous 
man,  whom  Paul  treated  as  a  brother,  companion  in  labor,  and 
fellow-soldier  ;35  Clement  and  others  still,  whom  Paul  calls  "his 
companions  in  labor,  and  whose  names,"  he  says,  "  are  written 
in  the  book  of  life." 36  Timothy  was  also  greatly  loved  by  the 
Philippians,  and  was  very  devoted  to  them.37  This  was  the 


SAINT  PAUL.  115 

only  church  from  which  Paul  accepted  pecuniary  aid,88  because 
it  was  rich,  and  not  burthened  with  poor  Jews.  Lydia  was, 
without  doubt,  the  principal  source  of  these  gifts.  Paul  accepted 
them  from  her,  for  he  knew  her  to  be  strongly  attached  to  him. 
Woman  gives  with  her  heart ;  with  her,  there  are  no  reproaches, 
nor  expected  repayment  to  be  feared.  Paul  preferred,  without 
a  doubt,  to  be  in  debt  to  a  woman  (probably  a  widow)  on  whom 
he  could  rely,  than  to  men  with  whom  he  would  have  been  less 
independent,  had  he  been  grateful. 

The  absolute  purity  of  Christian  morals  prevented  any  sus- 
picion. And  probably  it  is  not  too  presumptuous  to  suppose 
that  it  is  Lydia,  whom  Paul  in  his  epistle  to  the  Philippians 
calls  "  true  yoke-fellow."  39  This  expression  may  be,  if  we  so 
desire  it,  a  simple  metaphor.40  Is  it,  nevertheless,  perfectly 
impossible  that  Paul  should  have  contracted  a  closer  union  with 
this  sister?  We  cannot  say.  The  only  certainty  is  that  Paul 
took  no  sister  with  him  on  his  journeys.  An  entire  branch  of 
ecclesiastical  tradition  has,  in  spite  of  this,  pretended  that  he 
was  married.41 

The  character  of  the  Christian  woman  was  becoming  marked, 
more  and  more.  To  the  Jewish  woman,  at  times  so  impetuous, 
so  devoted,  to  the  Syrian  woman,  who  owes  her  flashes  of 
enthusiasm  and  love  to  the  soft  languor  of  a  diseased  organiza- 
tion ;  to  Tabitha,  to  Mary  of  Magdala,  succeed  the  Grecian 
women,  Lydia,  Phoebe,  Chloe,  — lively,  gay,  active,  mild,  eminent, 
ready  for  everything  and  still  discreet,  giving  up  to  their  master, 
serving  as  subordinates,  capable  of  the  greatest  sacrifices,  because 
content  to  be  the  helpers  and  sisters  of  men,  to  aid  them  in  the 
performance  of  good  and  beautiful  actions.  These  Grecian 
women,  of  a  fine  and  strong  race,  upon  growing  old  undergo  a 
change  which  transforms  them.  They  become  pale ;  their  eyes 
wander  slightly.  Covering  then,  with  a  black  veU,  the  flat  braids 
of  hair  which  surround  their  cheeks,  they  give  themselves  up  to 
austere  cares,  and  display  an  earnest  and  intelligent  ardor.  The 
"  servant,"  or  Grecian  deaconess,  even  surpassed  the  one  of 


Il6  SAINT  PAUL. 

Syria  and  Palestine  in  courage.  These  women,  guardians  of 
the  secrets  of  the  church,  confronted  the  greatest  dangers,  and 
supported  every  torture  rather  than  divulge  anything.42  They 
created  the  dignity  of  their  sex,  precisely  because  they  did  not 
speak  of  their  rights ;  they  did  more  than  the  men  by  apparently 
restricting  themselves  to  serving  them. 

An  incident  took  place  which  hastened  the  departure  of  the 
missionaries.  The  city  began  to  talk  about  them,  and  already 
the  imaginations  were  occupied  with  the  wonderful  virtues 
attributed  to  them,  especially  in  exorcisms.  One  day.  as  they 
were  going  to  the  place  of  prayers,  they  met  a  young  slave, 
probably  a  ventriloquist,43  who  passed  for  a  pythoness,  foretelling 
the  future.  Her  masters  earned  considerable  money  in  this 
disgraceful  pursuit.  The  poor  girl,  either  because  her  spirit  was 
in  reality  moved,  or  that  she  was  tired  of  her  low  calling,  no 
sooner  perceived  the  missionaries  than  she  began  to  follow  them, 
with  loud  cries.  The  faithful  pretended  that  she  was  rendering 
homage  to  the  new  faith,  and  to  those  who  preached  it.  This 
took  place  several  days.  Finally,  one  day  Paul  exorcised  her. 
The  girl  calmed,  pretended  to  be  delivered  from  the  spirit  which 
possessed  her,  but  the  vexation  of  her  masters  was  very  great. 
By  the  cure  of  the  young  girl,  they  lost  their  means  of  livelihood. 
They  brought  a  suit  against  Paul,  author  of  the  exorcism,  and 
against  Silas  as  his  accomplice,44  and  led  them  to  the  Agora, 
before  the  duumvirs.45 

It  would  have  been  a  difficult  matter  to  base  a  claim  for 
indemnity  upon  so  singular  a  cause.  The  complainants  dwelt 
especially  upon  the  trouble  caused  in  the  city,  and  unlawful 
preaching.  "They  teach  customs,"  said  they,  "which  are  not 
lawful  for  us  to  receive,  neither  to  observe,  being  Romans." 
The  city  in  truth  was  in  possession  of  the  jus  italicum,  and  the 
freedom  of  worship  became  less  in  proportion  as  the  persons 
stood  in  closer  connection  with  the  Roman  city.  The  super- 
stitious populace,  excited  by  the  masters  of  the  pythoness,  made 
at  the  same  time  a  hostile  demonstration  against  the  apostles. 


SAINT  PAUL.  f  117 

This  kind  of  petty  disturbances  was  frequent  in  ancient  cities,  — 
the  innovators,  the  unemployed,  "the  pillars  of  the  Agora" 
as  Demosthenes  called  them,  lived  by  them.48  The  duumvirs, 
believing  that  it  was  only  a  question  of  ordinary  Jews,  without 
information  or  investigation  concerning  the  standing  of  the 
persons,47  condemned  Paul  and  Silas  to  be  beaten.  The  lictors 
tore  the  clothes  off  the  apostles,  and  beat  them  cruelly  before 
the  people.45  They  then  dragged  them  to  prison,49  put  them 
into  one  of  the  innermost  cells,  and  made  their  feet  fast  in 
stocks. 

Either  because  it  had  not  been  permitted  them  to  defend 
themselves,60  or  because  they  coveted  the  glory  of  suffering 
humiliations  for  their  master,51  neither  Paul  nor  Silas  had  taken 
advantage  of  their  title  of  citizens,  before  the  tribunal.51  It  was 
during  the  night,  while  in  prison,  that  they  declared  their  stand- 
ing. The  jailor  was  much  moved.  Up  to  that  moment  he  had 
treated  the  two  Jews  with  severity ;  now  he  found  himself  in  the 
presence  of  two  Romans,  Paulus  and  Sylvanus,  unjustly  con- 
demned. He  washed  their  wounds,  and  gave  them  food.  It  is 
probable  that  the  duumvirs  were  notified  at  the  same  time ;  for 
at  early  dawn,  they  sent  the  lictors  with  orders  to  the  jailor  to 
release  the  prisoners.  The  Valerian  law  and  the  Porcian  laws 
were  precise ;  the  application  of  the  bastinado  to  a  Roman 
citizen  constituted  a  grave  offence  for  the  magistrate.53  Paul, 
profiting  by  these  advantages,  refused  to  go  out  thus  privily. 
He  insisted,  it  is  said,  that  the  duumvirs  should  come  themselves 
and  set  him  at  liberty.  The  confusion  of  the  former  was  very 
great ;  they  went  and  persuaded  Paul  to  leave  the  city.  The 
two  prisoners,  once  set  free,  went  to  the  house  of  Lydia.  They 
were  received  as  martyrs;  they  addressed  the  last  words  of 
exhortation  and  consolation  to  the  brethren,  and  set  out.  In 
no  city  had  Paul  so  loved  and  been  loved.  Timothy,  who  was 
not  implicated  in  the  matter,  and  Luke,  who  occupied  a  secon- 
dary position,  remained  at  Philippi.54  Luke  and  Paul  were  not 
to  see  each  other  again  for  five  years. 


Ii8  SAINT  PAUL. 

Paul  and  Silas,  upon  leaving  Philippi,  followed  the  Egnatian 
road,  and  directed  their  steps  towards  Amphipolis.  It  was  one 
of  Paul's  most  beautiful  day's  journeys.  Upon  leaving  the  plain 
of  Philippi  the  road  enters  a  pleasant  valley,  overlooked  by  the 
massy  heights  of  the  Pangaeus.66  Flax,  and  plants  of  the  most 
temperate  climes,  are  cultivated  here.  Large  villages  are  visible 
in  all  the  folds  of  the  mountains.  The  Roman  highway  is  paved 
with  marble  flagging.  At  every  step,  under  almost  every  plane- 
tree,  the  traveller  finds  deep  wells,  filled  with  water  coming 
directly  from  the  neighboring  snows,  and  filtered  through  thick 
layers  of  permeable  earth.  Little  rivers,  wonderfully  clear,  flow 
out  from  rocks  of  white  marble.  'Tis  here  that  they  learn  to 
rank  good  water  highest  among  the  gifts  of  nature.  Amphipolis 
was  a  large  city  and  provincial  capital,56  about  one  hour's  journey 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Strymon.  The  apostles  appear  not  to 
have  stopped  here,57  probably  because  it  was  purely  a  Hellenic 
city. 

From  Amphipolis,  the  apostles,  after  leaving  the  estuary  of 
the  Strymon,  took  their  way  between  the  sea  and  the  mountain, 
through  thick  woods  and  fields,  which  advance  to  the  sand  on 
the  beach.  The  first  halting-place,  under  plane-trees,  near  a 
very  cold  spring,  which  rises  through  the  sand  a  few  steps  from 
the  sea,  is  a  delicious  place.  The  apostles  then  entered  int<~ 
the  Aulon  of  Arethusa,  a  deep  ravine,  a  sort  of  perpendicular 
Bosphorus,  which  serves  as  outlet  to  the  waters  of  the  interior 
lakes,  towards  the  sea.58  They  passed,  probably  unconsciously, 
by  the  side  of  the  tomb  of  Euripides.59  The  beauty  of  the  trees, 
the  freshness  of  the  air,  the  rapidity  of  the  waters,  the  luxuriancy 
of  the  ferns  and  arbutus  of  all  kinds,  remind  one  of  a  site  in  the 
Grande  Chartreuse  or  of  the  Gresivaudan,  thrown  at  the  door  of 
a  furnace.  The  basin  of  the  Mygdonian  lakes  is  in  truth  torrid, 
veritable  surfaces  of  melted  lead.  Adders,  swimming  with  their 
heads  out  of  water,  and  seeking  for  shade,  alone  cause  a  few  rip, 
pies.  The  flocks,  towards  noon,  gathered  close  at  the  foot  of  the 
trees,  appear  worn  out.  Were  it  not  for  the  hum  of  the  insects, 


SAINT  PAUL.  119 

and  the  singing  of  the  birds,  which,  of  created  beings,  alone 
resist  this  lassitude,  one  would  believe  himself  in  the  dominion 
of  death.  Passing  through  the  little  city  of  Apollonia,60  without 
making  a  halt,  Paul  skirted  the  southern  shore  of  the  lakes,  and 
proceeding  almost  to  the  depth  of  the  plain  of  which  they 
occupied  the  central  depression,  he  arrived  at  the  little  chain  of 
heights  which  shut  in  the  Gulf  of  Thessalonica  on  the  east  side. 
Upon  reaching  the  summit  of  these  hills,  Olympus  is  visible  in 
the  horizon,  in  all  its  splendor.  The  base  and  the  lower  portion 
of  the  mountain  mingle  with  the  blue  sky.  The  snows  of  the 
summit  appear  like  an  ethereal  dwelling-place,  suspended  in 
space.  But  alas  !  already  was  the  sacred  mountain  devastated. 
Men  had  scaled  its  heights,  and  discovered  that  the  gods  no 
longer  inhabited  it.  When  Cicero,  from  his  place  of  exile  in 
Thessalonica,  saw  these  white  summits,  he  knew  that  there 
was  only  snow  and  rock  there.  Paul,  without  a  doubt,  had 
not  a  thought  for  these  enchanting  places  of  another  race.  A 
large  city  was  before  him,  and  his  experience  told  him,  that  he 
would  find  there  an  excellent  basis  whereon  to  found  something 
great. 

Since  the  Roman  domination,  Thessalonica  had  become  one 
of  the  most  commercial  ports  on  the  Mediterranean.  It  was  a 
very  rich  and  populous  city.61  It  contained  a  large  synagogue, 
serving  as  a  religious  centre  to  the  Judaism  of  Philippi,  Amphi- 
polis,  and  Apollonia,  which  only  had  oratories.63  Paul  here 
pursued  his  invariable  course.  During  three  consecutive  Sab- 
baths he  spoke  in  the  synagogue,  repeating  his  uniform 
discourse  upon  Jesus,  proving  that  he  was  the  Messiah,  that  the 
Scriptures  had  been  fulfilled  in  him,  that  he  had  been  called  to 
suffer  death,  and  that  he  had  risen  from  the  dead.  Several 
Jews  were  converted,  but  the  conversions  were  specially 
numerous  among  the  "devout"  Greeks.  It  was  always  this 
class  which  furnished  the  new  faith  with  its  most  zealous 
adherents. 

Great  numbers  of  women  appeared.     The  best  female  society 


120  SAINT  PAUL. 

of  Thessalonica  had  for  a  long  while  observed  Sabbath  and  the 
Jewish  ceremonies.  The  elite  of  these  pious  ladies  hastened  to 
the  new  preachers.63  Many  of  the  heathens  were  thus  con- 
verted.61 The  customary  phenomena  of  thaumaturgy,  of  gloss- 
ology, of  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  of  mystic  effusions,  and  trances, 
were  produced.65  The  church  of  Thessalonica  soon  rivalled  that 
of  Philippi,  in  piety  and  delicate  attentions  to  the  apostle.66  No 
where  did  Paul  dispense  more  ardor,  tenderness,  and  penetrating 
grace.61  This  man,  naturally  quick  and  impulsive,  displayed  in 
his  missions  a  surprising  mildness  and  calmness.  He  was  a  father, 
a  mother,  a  nurse,  as  he  himself  expressed  it.63  His  austerity, 
and  even  his  ugliness,  only  added  to  his  charm  of  manner. 
Rude  and  rough  natures  have,  when  they  wish  to  be  tender  and 
fervent,  a  matchless,  seductive  charm.  By  severe  language, 
destitute  of  flattering  words,69  one  is  much  more  likely  to  carry 
his  point,  especially  with  women,  than  by  an  effeminate  style, 
which  is  often  the  index  of  weak  or  selfish  views. 

Paul  and  Silas  sojourned  with  a  certain  Jesus,  Israelite  by 
race,70  who,  according  to  the  usage  of  the  Jews,  had  Grecized  his 
name  into  that  of  Jason,  but  they  accepted  nothing  save 
lodging.  Paul  worked  night  and  day  at  his  trade,  in  order  to 
be  no  expense  to  the  church.71  The  rich  dealer  in  purple  of 
Philippi,  and  her  sister  colleagues,  would  have  regretted  that 
any  other  than  themselves  should  have  furnished  the  apostle 
with  the  necessaries  of  life.  Twice  during  his  sojourning 
in  Thessalonica,72  Paul  received  an  offering  from  Philippi  which 
he  accepted.  He  did  this  entirely  against  his  principles,  his 
rule  being  to  care  for  himself,  without  receiving  anything  from 
the  churches.  But  he  would  have  been  over-scrupulous  in 
refusing  this  heartfelt  gift.  The  sorrow  he  would  have  caused 
the  pious  women  prevented  him.  Perhaps,  moreover,  as  we 
have  already  said,  he  preferred  being  indebted  to  women,  who 
would  never  impede  his  action,  rather  than  to  men,  like  Jason, 
for  instance,  with  respect  to  whom  he  wished  to  preserve  his 
authority.  Nowhere,  apparently,  more  than  at  Thessalonica, 


SAINT  PAUL.  I.M 

did  Paul  succeed  in  satisfying  his  ideal.  The  population  to 
which  he  addressed  himself  was  mostly  comprised  of  laborious 
artisans.  Paul  entered  into  their  spirit,  preached  order,  labor, 
and  good  conduct  towards  the  heathen,  to  them.  An  entire 
new  series  of  precepts  was  added  to  his  lessons:  economy, 
application  to  business,  industrial  honor,  founded  upon  wealth 
and  independence.73  By  a  contrast  which  should  no  longer 
surprise  us,74  he  revealed  to  them  at  the  same  time  the  most 
fantastic  mysteries  of  the  Apocalypse,  such  as  they  were  im- 
agined." 

The  church  of  Thessalonica  became  a  model,  which  Paul 
took  pleasure  in  mentioning,76  and  of  which  the  good  reputation 
spread  around  like  an  odor  of  edification.77  Besides  Jason, 
Gaius,  Aristarchus,  and  Secundus78  were  appointed  among  the 
chiefs  of  the  church.  Aristarchus  was  circumcised.79 

What  had  already  taken  place  twenty  rimes  occurred  again  at 
Thessalonica.80  Discontented  Jews  stirred  up  troubles.  They 
recruited  bands  of  idlers,  of  vagrants,  and  of  those  loiterers  of 
all  kinds,  who,  in  the  ancient  cities,  passed  day  and  night  under 
the  columns  of  the  Basilicas,  ready  to  make  a  noise  for  those 
who  paid  them.  They  all  went  together  to  attack  Jason's  house. 
They  demanded  Paul  and  Silas  with  loud  cries.  As  they  were 
not  to  be  found,  the  rioters  seized  Jason  and  several  of  the 
faithful  with  him,  and  led  them  to  the  poliarchs,81  or  magistrates. 
Most  confused  cries  were  heard.  "The  revolutionists  are  in  the 
city,"  said  some,  and  "Jason  has  received  them."  "All  these 
people,"  said  the  others,  "  are  in  revolt  against  the  decrees  of  the 
emperor."  "They  have  a  king  whom  they  call  Jesus,"  said  a 
third.  The  trouble  was  great,  and-  the  poliarchs  were  not 
without  fear.  They  forced  Jason,  and  the  faithful  who  had  been 
arrested  with  him,  to  give  security,  and  sent  them  away.  The 
night  following,  the  brethren  led  Paul  and  Silas  out  of  the  city, 
and  sent  them  to  Berea.82  The  ill-feeling  of  the  Jews  continued 
against  the  little  church,  which  only  served  to  consolidate  it.83 

The  Jews  of  Berea  were  more  liberal,  and  better  bred  than 


122  SAINT  PAUL. 

those  of  Thessalonica.84  They  listened  willingly,  and  allowed 
Paul  to  set  forth  his  ideas  in  the  synagogue.  During  several 
days  there  was  among  them  a  lively  increase  of  curiosity.  They 
passed  the  time  searching  the  Scriptures,  in  order  to  find  the 
texts  quoted  by  Paul,  and  see  if  they  were  exact.  Many  were 
converted :  among  others,  a  certain  Jew  named  Sopater,  the  son 
of  Pyrrhus.85  Here,  however,  as  in  all  other  churches  of  Mace- 
donia, the  women  were  in  the  majority.  The  converts  all 
belonged  to  the  Greek  race,  to  that  class  of  devout  persons,  who, 
though  not  Jewesses,  practised  the  ceremonies  of  Judaism. 
Many  Greeks  and  proselytes  were  also  converted,  and  the  syna- 
gogue, for  a  wonder,  remained  quiet.  The  storm  came  from 
Thessalonica.  The  Jews  of  that  city,  having  learned  that  Paul 
had  preached  with  success  at  Berea,  went  to  the  latter  city  and 
renewed  their  proceedings.  Paul  was  again  obliged  to  set  out 
in  haste  without  taking  Silas.  Several  of  the  brethren  of  Berea 
accompanied  him  to  conduct  him. 

The  alarm  had  been  so  generally  given  in  the  synagogues  of 
Macedonia,  that  it  appeared  to  become  impossible  for  Paul  to 
remain  in  that  country.  He  saw  himself  tracked  from  city  to 
city,  while  disturbances,  as  it  were,  sprang  up  under  his  feet. 
The  Roman  police  was  not  very  inimical  to  him ;  but  they  acted, 
under  these  circumstances,  according  to  the  principles  of  the 
police.  So  soon  as  there  was  trouble  in  the  streets  they 
accused  every  one  wrongly,  and  without  inquiring  into  the  just 
rights  of  him  who  served  as  a  pretext  for  the  agitation,  requested 
him  to  be  quiet  or  pass  on.  It  amounted  to  the  same  thing  as 
justifying  the  disturbance,  and  establishing  the  principle  that  a 
few  fanatics  were  sumcent  to  deprive  the  citizen  of  his  liberties. 
The  policeman  has  never  prided  himself  on  being  very  philo- 
sophical. Paul  resolved,  therefore,  to  set  out  and  direct  his  steps 
towards  a  country  so  distant  that  the  hatred  of  his  adversaries 
might  lose  the  trail.  Leaving  Silas  and  Timothy  in  Macedonia 
he  directed  his  course,  accompanied  by  the  Bereans,  toward  the 
sea,86  Thus  was  finished  this  brilliant  mission  of  Macedonia, 


SAINT  PAUL.  123 

the  most  fruitful  of  all  that  Paul  had  as  yet  accomplished. 
Churches  composed  of  entirely  new  elements  were  established. 
It  was  no  longer  Syrian  levity  or  Lycaonian  good-nature.  They 
were  fine,  delicate,  elegant,  intelligent  races,  who,  prepared  by 
Judaism,  now  betook  themselves  to  the  new  faith.  The  coast 
of  Macedonia  was  entirely  covered  with  Greek  colonies.  The 
Greek  genius  had  there  borne  its  best  fruits.  These  noble 
churches  of  Thessalonica  and  Philippi,  composed  of  the  most 
distinguished  women  of  each  city,87  were,  without  comparison,  the 
two  most  beautiful  conquests  that  Christianity  had  yet  made. 
The  Jewess  is  surpassed.  Submissive,  retired,  obedient,  taking 
little  part  in  religion,  the  Jewess  was  seldom  converted.  It  was 
the  "devout"'8  woman,  the  Greek,  tired  of  those  goddesses 
brandishing  lances  on  the  tops  of  Acropoles ;  the  virtuous  wife, 
turning  her  back  to  effete  paganism  and  seeking  a  pure  religion, 
who  was  drawn  towards  heaven.  They  are  the  second  founders 
of  our  faith.  After  the  Galilean  women,  who  followed  Jesus 
and  ministered  unto  him,  Lydia,  Phebe,  and  the  pious  unknown 
ladies  of  Philippi  and  Thessalonica,  are  the  true  saints  to  whom 
the  new  faith  owed  its  most  rapid  progress. 


124  SAINT  PAUL. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CONTINUATION  OF  THE  SECOND  JOURNEY  OF  PAUL. PAUL  AT 

ATHENS. 

PAUL,  still  accompanied  by  the  faithful  Bereans,  set  sail  toward 
Athens.1  From  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  Therma  to  Phaleria  or 
to  the  Piraeus  is  a  sail  of  three  or  four  days  in  a  small  vessel. 
You  pass  the  foot  of  Olympus,  Ossa,  and  Pelion,  follow  the 
sinuosities  of  the  interior  sea,  which  Euboea  separates  from  the 
rest  of  the  ^Egean  sea,a  and  cross  the  singular  strait  of  Euripus. 
Upon  every  tack,  you  graze  this  truly  holy  land,  where  perfection 
once  unveiled  itself,  where  the  ideal  has  really  existed.  This 
land  has  seen  the  noblest  of  races  founding,  at  the  same  time, 
art,  science,  philosophy,  and  politics.  Doubtless  Paul  did  not 
feel,  upon  landing  there,  that  species  of  filial  sentiment  which 
cultivated  men  experience  upon  setting  foot  upon  this  vene- 
rable soil.3  He  belonged  to  another  world.  His  holy  land  was 
elsewhere. 

Greece  had  not  arisen  again  after  the  terrible  blows  which  had 
fallen  upon  her  in  the  late  centuries.  Like  the  sons  of  Earth, 
these  aristocratic  tribes  had  torn  each  other,  —  the  Romans  had 
finished  the  extermination,  the  old  families  had  almost  disap- 
peared. The  ancient  cities  of  Thebes  and  Argos  had  become 
wretched  villages ;  Olympia  and  Sparta  were  humiliated ;  Athens 
and  Corinth  alone  had  survived.  The  country  was  almost  a 
desert.  The  image  of  desolation  which  we  derive  from  the  paint- 
ings of  Polybius,  Cicero,  Strabo,  and  Pausanias  is  heart-rending.4 
The  appearances  of  liberty  which  the  Romans  had  left  in  the 
cities,  and  which  were  not  to  disappear  until  under  the  reign  of 
Vespasian,6  were  merely  ironical.  The  bad  administration  of  the 
Romans  had  ruined  everything  ;6  temples  were  no  longer  cared 
for ;  at  every  step  there  were  pedestals  from  which  the  conquerors 


SAINT  PAUL.  125 

new  rulers.7  The  Peloponnesus  was  struck  with  death.  Sparta 
had  killed  it.  Burned  by  the  proximity  of  this  mad  Utopia,  that 
poor  country  had  never  recovered  itself.8  In  the  Roman  period, 
moreover,  the  system  of-  large  and  centralizing  cities  had  suc- 
ceeded to  that  of  numerous  petty  centres.  Corinth  absorbed  all 
life. 

The  race,  if  we  except  Corinth,  had  remained,  nevertheless, 
quite  pure.  The  number  of  Jews  outside  of  Corinth,  was  incon- 
siderable.9 Greece  received  but  one  single  Roman  colony. 
The  invasions  of  the  Slavonians  and  Albani,  who  so  materially 
changed  the  Hellenic  blood,  did  not  take  place  until  later.  The 
old  religions  were  still  flourishing.10  A  few  women,  unbeknown 
to  their  husbands,  were  practising  very  secretly  in  the  depths 
of  the  Gynaeceum,  foreign  superstitions,  especially  Egyptian,11 
but  the  sages  protested.  "What  God,"  said  they,  ais  that  who 
is  pleased  with  the  secret  homage  of  a  married  woman  !  The 
wife  should  have  no  other  friends  than  those  of  her  husband. 
Are  not  the  gods  our  first  friends  ?" 12 

It  appears  that  either  during  the  voyage,  or  at  the  moment 
of  his  arrival  at  Athens,  Paul  regretted  having  left  his  com- 
panions in  Macedonia.  Probably  this  new  world  astonished 
him.  He  found  himself  too  isolated.  Certain  it  is  that  on  dis- 
missing the  faithful  Bereans  he  charged  them  to  tell  Silas  and 
Timothy  to  come  to  him  as  soon  as  possible.13  Paul  was  there- 
"vfbre  alone  at  Athens  for  a  few  days.  This  had  not  happened 
fthfajim  for  a  very  long  while.  His  life  had  been  like  a  whirlwind, 
and  he  had  never  travelled  without  two  or  three  companions. 
There  was  but  one  Athens  in  the  world,  and  surely  it  was  some- 
thing totally  different  from  what  Paul  had  as  yet  seen.  There- 
fore his  perplexity  was  very  great.  While  waiting  for  his  com- 
panions, he  confined  himself  to  walking  through  the  city  in 
every  direction.14  The  Acropolis,  with  that  infinite  number  of 
statues  which  covered  it,  and  transformed  it  into  a  museum 
such  as  never  had  existed,15  must  have  been  the  special  object 
of  his  most  original  reflections. 
11* 


126  SAINT  PAUL. 

Athens,  although  having  suffered  a  great  deal  from  Sylla; 
although  pillaged,  like  all  Greece,  by  the  Roman  administrators,16 
and  already  partially  stripped  by  the  gross  covetousness  of  its 
masters,  was  still  ornamented  with  almost  all  its  masterpieces. 
The  monuments  of  the  Acropolis  were  intact.  A  few  unskillful 
additions  of  detail,  quite  a  number  of  mediocre  works  which  had 
already  glided  into  the  sanctuary  of  high  art,  of  impertinent 
substitution  which  had  placed  Romans  on  the  pedestals  of  old 
Greeks,17  had  not  changed  the  sanctity  of  this  immaculate  temple 
of  the  Beautiful.  The  P&cile,  with  its  brilliant  decoration,  was 
as  fresh  as  the  first  day.  The  exploits  of  the  odious  Secundus 
Carinas,  the  provider  of  statues  for  the  "  Golden  House,"  did 
not  commence  till  several  years  after,  and  Athens  suffered  less 
than  Delphi  and  Olympia.18  The  bad  taste  of  the  Romans  for 
cities  with  colonnades  had  not  penetrated  here.  The  houses  were 
poor,  and  hardly  comfortable.  This  exquisite  city  was,  at  the 
same  time,  an  irregular  one,  with  narrow  streets,  —  the  preserver  of 
her  old  monuments  preferring  Archaic  remembrancers  to  streets 
drawn  in  straight  lines.19  So  many  wonders  scarcely  moved  the 
apostle.  He  saw  the  only  perfect  things  which  have  ever  existed, 
which  ever  will  exist :  the  Propylsea,  that  noble  masterpiece ; 
the-  Parthenon,  which  destroys  all  other  grandeur  except  its 
own;  the  temple  of  wingless  Victory,  worthy  of  the  battles 
which  it  consecrated ;  the  Erechtheum,  prodigy  of  elegance  and 
finesse;  the  Errhephores,  those  divine  young  girls  of  so  graceml  a 
carriage.  He  saw  all  that,  and  his  faith  was  not  shaken.  He  did 
not  startle.  The  prejudices  of  the  iconoclastic  Jew,  insensible  to 
plastic  beauties,  blinded  him.  He  regarded  these  incomparable 
images  as  idols.  "His  spirit,"  says  his  biographer,  "was  stirred 
within  him  when  he  saw  the  city  wholly  given  to  idolatry."  20 
Ah  !  beautiful  and  chaste  images,  tine  gods  and  true  goddesses, 
tremble! — here  is  one  who  will  raise  the  hammer  against  you. 
The  fatal  word  has  been  pronounced, — ye  are  idols.  The  error 
of  this  ugly  little  Jew  will  prove  your  death-warrant. 

Among  so  many  things  which  he  did  not  understand,  there 


SAINT  PAUL.  127 

were  two  which  impressed  the  apostle  deeply  :  first,  the  very 
religious  character  of  the  Athenians,21  manifested  by  a  multitude 
of  temples,  altars,  and  sanctuaries  of  all  sorts,  aa  signs  of  the  tole- 
rant eclecticism  which  they  carried  into  religion  ;  second,  certain 
altars,  anonymous  or  raised  to  "  unknown  gods."  "  These  altars 
were  rather  numerous  in  Athens  and  its  suburbs.84  Other  cities 
of  Greece  also  had  them."  Those  of  the  port  of  Phaleria  (Paul 
had  been  able  to  see  them  when  landing)  were  celebrated. 
They  connected  them  with  the  legends  of  the  Trojan  war.26 
They  bore  the  inscription  :  — 


(To  the  unknown  gods.) 
Some  even  may  have  borne  :  — 


(To  an  unknown  god.)27 

These  altars  owed  their  existence  to  the  great  scruples  of  the 
Athenians  in  regard  to  religious  things,  and  to  their  habit  of  see- 
ing the  manifestations  of  a  mysterious  and  special  power  in  every 
object.  Fearing  to  offend  some  god  of  whose  name  they  were 
ignorant,  or  of  neglecting  a  powerful  god,  or  rather  wishing  to 
obtain  a  favor  which  might  depend  upon  a  certain  divinity  un- 
known to  them,  they  erected  anonymous  altars,  or  altars  with  the 
above-mentioned  inscriptions.  Probably  too,  these  fantastic  in- 
scriptions originated  from  altars  at  first  anonymous,28  and  to  which, 
in  the  operation  of  a  general  census,  they  may  have  given  such 
inscriptions  from  the  fact  of  not  knowing  to  whom  they  belonged. 
Paul  was  much  surprised  at  these  dedications.  Inteq^reting 
them  in  his  Jewish  mind,  he  imputed  to  them  a  sense  which  they 
did  not  possess.  He  believed  that  it  had  reference  to  some  god 
called  par  excellence  the  "  unknown  God."  29  He  saw  in  this 
"  unknown  God,"  the  god  of  the  Jews,  the  only  god  toward 
whom  Paganism  itself  might  have  some  mysterious  aspiration.80 


128  SAINT  PAUL. 

This  idea  was  the  more  natural  in  the  eyes  of  the  pagans,  as 
that  which  characterizes  the  god  of  the  Jews,  is  the  fact  that  he 
is  a  nameless  god,  an  uncertain  god.31  Or,  perhaps  it  was  in 
some  religious  ceremony,  or  in  some  philosophical  discussion, 
that  Paul  heard  the  hemistich,  "En  ffov  yap  ysro?  fff/tev," 
taken  from  the  hymn  of  Cleanthes  to  Jupiter,  or  from  the  Phen- 
omena of  Aratus,32  and  which  frequently  occurred  in  the  religious 
hymns.33  He  grouped  these  features  of  local  coloring  within  his 
mind,  and  strove  to  compose  a  discourse  appropriate  to  his  new 
audience,  for  he  felt  that  it  would  be  necessary  now  to  modify 
his  preaching  materially. 

Assuredly,  Athens  was  far  from  being  then,  what  she  had  been 
for  centuries,  the  centre  of  human  progress,  the  capital  of  the 
Republic  of  Minds.  Faithful  to  her  ancient  genius,  this  divine 
mother  of  every  art  was  one  of  the  last  asylums  of  liberalism 
and  republican  spirit.  It  was  what  might  be  called  a  city  of 
opposition.  Athens  was  always  in  favor  of  the  lost  causes.  She 
declared  earnestly  for  the  independence  of  Greece,  and  for 
Mithridates  against  the  Romans ;  for  Pompey  against  Caesar ; 
for  the  republicans  against  the  triumvirs ;  for  Antony  against 
Octavius.34  She  reared  statues  to  Brutus  and  Cassius  alongside 
those  of  Harmodius  and  Aristogeiton.35  She  honored  Gernianicus, 
to  the  point  of  compromising  herself.  She  merited  the  injuries 
done  her  by  Piso.30  Sylla  sacked  her  in  an  atrocious  manner,37 
and  gave  her  democratic  constitution  its  quietus.  Augustus, 
though  mild  toward  her,  was  not  favorable  to  her.  Her  title  of 
free  city  was  never  taken  from  her ; 38  but  the  privileges  of  the  free 
cities  were  ever  on  the  wane,  under  the  Caesars  and  the  Flavians. 
Thus,  the  position  of  Athens  'was  that  of  a  suspected  city, 
disgraced,  but  ennobled  for  this  very  reason.  At  the  accession 
of  Nerva,  a  new  life  began  for  her.39  The  world  returned  to 
reason,  and  virtue  recognized  its  mother.  Nerva,  Herod,  Atticus, 
Hedrian,  Antoninus,  Marcus  Aurelius,  restore  her,  and  vie  in 
endowing  her  with  monuments  and  new  institutions.  For  four 
centuries  does  Athens  again  become  the  city  of  philosophers, 


SAINT  PAUL.  129 

artists,  beaux  esprits,  —  the  holy  city  of  every  liberal  soul,  the 
pilgrimage  of  those  who  love  the  beautiful  and  the  true. 

But  let  us  not  go  too  far.  At  the  sad  period  now  under 
consideration,  the  ancient  splendor  had  disappeared,  the  new 
had  not  begun.  It  was  no  longer  the  "  city  of  Theseus,"  and  it 
was  not  yet  the  "city  of  Hadrian." 

In  the  first  century  before  our  era,  the  Athenian  school  of  phi- 
losophy had  been  very  brilliant.  Philo  of  Larissa,  Antiochus  of 
Ascalon,  had  continued  the  academy40  or  modified  it.41  Cra- 
•  tippus  was  teaching  peripateticism  there,  and  knew  how  to  be 
at  the  same  moment  the  friend,  master,  consoler,  or  protege 
of  Pompey,  Ca3sar,  Cicero,  and  Brutus.  The  most  celebrated 
Romans,  and  those  most  given  up  to  occupations,  drawn  to  the 
Orient  by  their  ambition,  all  stopped  at  Athens  to  listen  to  the 
philosophers  in  vogue.  Atticus,  Crassus,  Cicero,  Varro,  Ovid, 
Horace,  Agrippa,  and  Virgil,  had  either  studied  or  resided  there 
as  amateurs.  Brutus  passed  his  last  winter  there,  sharing  his 
time  between  the  peripatetic  Cratippus,  and  the  academician 
Theomnestes.42  Athens  was,  on  the  eve  of  the  battle  of  Phi- 
lippi,  a  centre  of  opinion  of  the  highest  importance.  The  in- 
struction given  there  was  entirely  philosophic,43  and  very  supe- 
rior to  the  insipid  eloquence  of  the  school  of  Rhodes.  What 
really  injured  Athens  was  the  accession  of  Augustus  and  the  uni- 
versal pacification.  Suspicion  then  attached  itself  to  the  teach- 
ing of  philosophy.44  The  schools  lost  their  importance  and  their 
activity.45  Rome,  moreover,  by  the  brilliant  literary  evolution 
which  she  performed,  became  for  some  time  half  and  half  inde- 
pendent of  Greece,  in  respect  to  affairs  of  genius.  Other  centres 
had  been  formed  as  a  school  of  varied  instruction.  Marseilles 
was  preferred.46  The  original  philosophy  of  the  four  great  sects 
had  ended.  Eclectism,  a  sort  of  weak  way  of  philosophizing 
without  a  system,  began.  If  we  except  Ammonius  of  Alexandria, 
a  master  of  Plutarch,47  who  about  this  time  founded  at  Athens 
a  sort  of  literary  philosophy  which  was  to  become  popular  from 
tljg  date  of  the  reign  of  Hadrian,  no  one  towards  the  middle 


130  SAINT  PAUL. 

of  the  first  century  renders  illustrious  the  city  of  the  world  which 
has  produced  or  attracted  the  largest  number  of  celebrated  men. 
The  statues  which  they  now  dedicate  with  a  deplorable  prodi- 
gality on  the  Acropolis  are  those  of  consuls,  proconsuls,  Roman 
magistrates,  and  members  of  the  imperial  family.48  The  temples 
which  they  erect  there  are  consecrated  to  the  gods  of  Rome  and 
to  Augustus ; 49  there  were  even  statues  of  Nero.50  The  artists  of 
talent  having  been  enticed  to  Rome,  the  Athenian  works  of  the 
first  century  are  for  the  most  part  of  a  surprising  mediocrity.51 
And  further,  those  monuments,  as,  for  instance,  the  tower  of 
Andronicus  Cyrestes,  the  portico  of  Athena  Archegetes,  the 
temple  of  Rome  and  Augustus,  the  mausoleum  of  Philopapus, 
are  somewhat  anterior  or  subsequent  to  the  time  at  which  Paul 
visited  Athens.  Never  before  in  its  long  history  had  the  city 
been  more  speechless  or  more  quiet. 

She  still  preserved,  however,  a  large  part  of  her  nobleness. 
She  still  held  the  most  advanced  position  in  the  attention  of  the 
world.  In  spite  of  the  severity  of  the  times,  the  respect  for 
Athens  was  very  great,  and  every  one  felt  it.52  Sylla,  although 
so  terrible  for  his  rebellion,  had  pity  on  her.53  It  was  the  goal  of 
Cicero's  vanity  to  have  a  statue  there.54  Pompey  and  Caesar, 
before  the  battle  of  Pharsalia,  caused  a  herald  to  proclaim  that 
the  Athenians  would  all  be  spared  as  priests  of  the  Thesmo- 
phorian  goddesses.65  Pompey  gave  a  large  sum  of  money  to 
ornament  the  city.06  Caesar  refused  to  take  vengeance  on  her,6 
and  contributed  towards  the  erection  of  one  of  its  monuments.58 
Brutus  and  Cassius  acted  like  private  persons  there,  received 
and  feted  as  heroes.  Antony  liked  Athens,  and  willingly  resided 
there.59  After  the  battle  of  Actium,  Augustus  pardoned  her  for 
the  third  time.  His  name,  like  that  of  Caesar,  remained  attached 
to  a  considerable  monument.60  His  family  and  its  connections 
were  regarded  at  Athens  as  benefactors.61  The  Romans  prided 
themselves  upon  asserting  that  they  left  Athens  free  and  hon- 
ored.63 Spoiled  children  of -glory,  the  Greeks  henceforth  lived 
upon  the  remembrances  of  their  past.  While  residing  in  Athens, 


SAINT  TAUL.  '131 

Germanicus  did  not  wish  to  be  preceded  by  more  than  one 
lictor.03  Nero,  who,  however,  was  not  superstitious,"  did  not 
dare  to  enter  there,  through  fear  of  the  Furies  who  lived  under 
the  Areopagus,  of  those  terrible  "Semnes"  so  dreaded 'by  pa- 
tricides. The  recollection  of  Orestes  made  him  tremble ;  nor  did 
he  dare  to  face  the  Eleusinian  mysteries,  at  the  commencement 
of  which  the  herald  cried  out  that  wretches  and  profane  ones06 
should  keep  their  distance.  Noble  foreigners,  descendants  of 
dethroned  kings,68  went  to  Athens  to  spend  their  money,  and 
delighted  to  see  themselves  decorated  with  the  titles  of  Cho- 
rasgus  and  Agonothete.  All  the  petty  barbarian  kings  vied  with 
each  other  in  rendering  services  to  the  Athenians  in  restoring 
their  monuments.67 

Religion  was  one  of  the  causes  of  these  exceptional  favors. 
Essentially  municipal  and  political  in  its  origin,  based  upon  the 
myths  relating  to  the  foundation  of  the  city  and  her  divine  pro- 
tectors, the  religion  of  Athens  was  at  first  merely  the  religious 
consecration  of  the  patriotism  and  institutions  of  the  city.  It 
was  the  religion  of  the  Acropolis.  "Agraulos,"  and  the  oath 
which  the  young  Athenians  took  upon  his  altar,  have  no  other 
signification,  —  about  the  same  thing  as  if  religion  among  us  con- 
sisted in  being  enrolled  for  military  duty,  drilling,  and  honoring 
the  flag.  That  was  soon  to  become  very  insipid;  that  contained 
nothing  of  the  infinite ;  nothing  which  might  interest  man  with 
respect  to  his  destiny ;  nothing  universal.  The  railleries  of  Aris- 
tophanes against  these  gods  of  the  Acropolis G8  prove  that  they, 
of  themselves,  would  have  in  no  wise  captivated  all  races.  At 
an  early  day,  the  women  turned  towards  petty  foreign  devotions, 
as,  for  instance,  those  of  Adonis.  Mysteries  above  all  became 
popular.  Philosophy,  in  the  hands  of  Plato,  was  a  delicious 
mythology  of  its  kind ;  while  art  was  creating  for  the  multitude 
images  really  adorable.  The  gods  of  Athens  became  the  gods 
of  beauty.  The  old  Athena  Poliades  was  only  a  manikin, 
apparently  without  arms,  wrapped  up  in  a  peplos,  like  the 
Madonna  of  Loretto.  The  toreutic  art  performed  an  unpa- 


132  SAINT  PAUL. 

ralleled  miracle.  It  made  realistic  statues,  after  the  style  of 
Italian  and  Byzantine  madonnas,  loaded  with  inlaid  ornaments, 
which  were  at  the  same  time  marvellous  masterpieces.  In  this 
manner  Athens  came  into  possession  of  one  of  the  most  com- 
plete religions  of  antiquity.  This  religion  suffered  a  sort  of 
eclipse  at  the  time  of  the  misfortunes  of  the  city.  The  Athenians 
were  the  first  to  pollute  their  sanctuary.  Lachares  stole  the 
gold  from  the  statue  of  Athena;  Demetrius  Poliorcetes  was 
installed  by  the  inhabitants  themselves  into  the  inner  cella  of 
the  Parthenon;  he  lodged  his  courtesans  near  him,  and  there 
was  jesting  in  regard  to  the  scandal  that  such  a  neighborhood 
must  cause  the  chaste  goddess ; 69  Aristion,  the  last  defender 
of  Athenian  independence,  allowed  the  eternal  lamp  of  Athena 
Poliades  to  go  out.70  Such  was,  nevertheless,  the  glory  of  this 
ancient  city  that  the  universe  was  apparently  influenced  to 
adopt  her  goddess  at  the  moment  at  which  she  abandoned  her. 

The  Parthenon,  through  the  action  of  foreigners,  recovered 
her  honors.  The  mysteries  of  Athens  constituted  a  religious 
attraction  for  the  entire  heathen  world.71 

But  it  was  principally  as  a  city  of  instruction  that  Athens  exer- 
cised a  wonderful  prestige.  This  new  destiny,  which  through 
the  instrumentality  of  Hadrian  and  Marcus  Aurelius  was  to 
assume  so  marked  a  character,  had  commenced  two  centuries 
before.72  The  city  of  Miltiades  and  Pericles  had  been  trans- 
formed into  an  university  city,  a  sort  of  Oxford,  —  the  rendezvous 
of  all  the  young  nobility,  who  spent  their  money  there  liberally.73 
There  was  no  one  but  professors,  philosophers,  rhetoricians, 
pedagogues  of  all  kinds,  magistrates,  masters  of  gymnasiums, 
gymnasiarchs,  teachers  of  wrestling,  drill-sergeants,  masters  of 
fencing  and  riding.74  Dating  from  Hadrina,  the  cosmetes  or 
magistrates  of  the  gymnasia  assume  in  a  certain  measure  the 
importance  and  dignity  of  archons.  The  years  are  dated  from 
them.  The  old  Greek  education,  destined  in  principle  to  form  the 
free  citizen,  becomes  the  pedagogical  law  of  the  human  race.75 
Alas !  it  no  longer  forms  much  else  than  rhetoricians.  The 


SAINT  PAUL.  133 

exercises  of  the  body,  formerly  the  true  occupation  of  the  heroes 
on  the  borders  of  the  Ilissus,  are  now  an  affaire  de  pose.  A 
circus  grandeur,  a  Franconi  style,  has  replaced  the  real  gran- 
deur.76 But  it  is  the  peculiarity  of  Greece  to  have  ennobled 
everything.  Even  the  business  of  the  man  of  instruction  became 
with  her  an  office  of  morality :  the  dignity  of  professor,  in  spite  of 
more  than  one  abuse,  was  one  of  her  creations.77  IhtiLJcunesse 
doree  at  times  knew  how  to  recall  the  beautiful  discourses  of  its 
masters.78  It  was  republican,  like  every  other.  It  flew  to  arms 
at  the  call  of  Brutus;  it  immolated  itself  at  Philippi.79  The  day 
was  passed  in  discoursing  upon  tyrant-killing  and  liberty,  in  cele- 
brating the  noble  death  of  Cato,  and  in  eulogizing  Brutus. 

The  population  was  always  lively,  witty,  and  inquisitive. 
Every  one  passed  his  life  in  the  open  air,  in  perpetual  contact 
with  the  rest  of  the  world,  surrounded  by  a  light  atmosphere, 
under  a  heaven  wreathed  in  smiles.  The  foreigners,  numerous 
and  anxious  to  learn,  maintained  a  great  activity  of  mind.  Pub- 
licity, the  journalism  of  the  ancient  world,  if  I  may  be  permitted 
to  make  use  of  such  an  expression,  had  its  centre  at  Athens. 
The  city  not  having  become  commercial,  everybody  had  only 
one  care,  —  that  was  to  learn  the  news,  and  keep  himself  in- 
formed as  to  what  was  being  said  and  done  in  the  world.80  It 
is  very  remarkable  that  the  great  development  of  religion  did 
not  injure  rational  culture:  Athens  was  able  to  be,  at  the  same 
time,  the  most  religious  city  in  the  world,  the  Pantheon  of 
Greece,  and  the  city  of  philosophers.  When  we  see  in  the 
Theatre  Dionysius  the  marble  fauteuils  which  surround  the 
orchestra  bearing  the  names  of  the  priesthood,  for  the  incum- 
bent of  which  they  are  destined,  one  would  say  that  this  was  a 
city  of  priests.  Nevertheless,  it  was  most  especially  a  city  of 
freethinkers.  The  religion  in  question  had  neither  dogmas 
nor  religious  books.  They  had  not,  in  respect  to  natural 
philosophy,  the  horror  which  Christianity  has  always  had,  and 
which  has  led  it  to  oppose  scientific  research.  The  priest  and 
the  atomical  Epicurean,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  disagree- 


134  SAINT  PAUL. 

ments,81  lived  quite  well  together.  The  true  Greeks  satisfied 
themselves  perfectly  with  those  agreements,  founded  not  upon 
logic,  but  upon  mutual  tolerance  and  mutual  regard. 

This  was  for  Paul  a  theatre  of  an  entirely  different  kind.  The 
cities  where  he  had  preached  up  to  that  time,  were,  for  the  most 
part,  industrial  cities,  —  sort  of  Leghorns  or  Triestes,  contain- 
ing large  Jewries,  rather  than  brilliant  centres,  —  cities  of  good 
society  and  high  culture.  Athens  was  profoundly  heathen. 
Paganism  was  there  identified  with  all  the  pleasures,  interests, 
and  glories  of  the  city.  Paul  hesitated  a  great  deal.  At  last, 
Timothy  arrived  from  Macedonia.  Silas,  for  reasons  unknown 
to  us,  had  not  accompanied  him.82  Paul  then  resolved  to 
act. 

There  was  a  synagogue  at  Athens,83  and  Paul  spoke  there  to 
the  Jews  and  "devout"84  people  ;  but  in  such  a  city,  synagogue 
successes  amounted  to  very  little.  That  brilliant  Agora  where 
so  much  mind  was  displayed,  that  P&cile  portico  where  all  the 
questions  of  the  world  were  agitated,  tempted  him.  He  spoke 
there,  not  as  a  preacher  addressing  the  assembled  crowd,  but 
as  a  stranger,  who  steals  in,  spreads  his  ideas  timidly,  and  seeks 
to  create  for  himself  some  basis  of  action.  The  success  was 
moderate.  "Jesus  and  the  resurrection"  (anastasis)  appeared 
to  be  strange  words,  devoid  of  sense.85  Several,  it  appears, 
took  anastasis  for  the  name  of  a  goddess,  and  thought  that 
Jesus  and  Anastasis  was  some  new  divine  couple,  whom  these 
oriental  dreamers  had  come  to  preach.86  Epicurean  and  Stoic 
philosophers,  it  is  said,  approached  and  listened. 

This  first  contact  of  Christianity  and  Greek  philosophy  was 
not  very  friendly.  It  was  never  better  seen  how  men  of  intelli- 
gence should  be  careful  not  to  depend  upon  themselves,  nor 
scoff  at  an  idea,  however  ridiculous  it  may  appear  to  them. 
The  bad  Greek  spoken  by  Paul,  his  incorrect  and  hesitating 
enunciation,  were  not  calculated  to  gain  him  credit  at  Athens. 
The  philosophers  turned  their  backs  disdainfully  upon  these 
barbarous  expressions.  "He  is  a  babbler"  (spermologos)?"1 


SAINT  PAUL.  135 

said  some.  "  He  is  a  setter  forth  of  strange  gods,"  said  others. 
Not  one  of  them  imagined  that  this  babbler  would  one  day 
supplant  them,  and  that,  four  hundred  and  seventy-four  years 
after,88  their  professorships  would  be  suppressed,  considered  use- 
less and  hurtful,  in  consequence  of  Paul's  preaching.  A  great 
lesson  !  Proud  of  their  superiority,  the  philosophers  of  Athens 
disdained  the  questions  of  popular  religion.  At  their  side, 
superstition  flourished.  In  this  respect,  Athens  almost  equalled 
the  most  religious  cities  of  Asia  Minor.  The  aristocracy  of 
thinkers  cared  very  little  for  the  social  wants  which  made  their 
way  through  the  covering  of  so  many  gross  religions.  Such  a 
divorce  is  always  punished.  When  philosophy  declares  that  she 
will  not  occupy  herself  with  religion,  religion  replies  to  her  by 
strangling  her.  And  this  is  just ;  for  philosophy  is  nothing, 
unless  it  points  out  a  path  for  humanity,  —  unless  it  takes  a 
serious  view  of  the  infinite  problem  which  is  the  same  for  all. 

The  liberal  spirit  which  reigned  at  Athens  assured  Paul  com- 
plete security.  Neither  Jews  nor  heathens  attempted  anything 
against  him.  But  this  tolerance  was  even  worse  than  dis- 
pleasure. Elsewhere  the  new  doctrine  produced  a  lively  reac- 
tion, at  least  in  Jewish  society ;  here  it  only  found  inquisitive 
and  blase  auditors.  It  appeared  that  one  day  Paul's  auditors, 
wishing  to  obtain  from  him  in  some  degree  an  official  exposition 
of  his  doctrine,  led  him  to  the  Areopagus,  and  there  called  upon 
him  to  tell  what  religion  he  preached.  Of  a  truth  it  is  possible 
that  this  may  be  a  legend,  and  that  the  fame  of  the  Areopagus 
may  have  led  the  author  of  the  Acts,  who  had  not  been  an 
eye-witness,  to  choose  this  illustrious  auditorium  in  which  to 
make  his  hero  pronounce  a  prepared  discourse,  a  philosophic 
harangue.  Nevertheless,89  this  hypothesis  is  not  necessary. 
The  Areopagus  had,  under  the  Romans,  preserved  its  ancient 
organization.00  It  had  even  seen  its  privileges  increase  in 
consequence  of  the  policy  which  led  the  conquerors  to  suppress 
the  ancient  democratic  institutions  of  Greece,  and  replace  them 
by  councils  of  notables.  The  Areopagus  had  always  been  the 


136  SAINT  PAUL. 

aristocratic  body  of  Athens.  It  gained  what  the  democracy 
lost.  Let  us  add,  that  this  was  an  epoch  of  literary  dilettan- 
teism,  and  that  this  tribunal,  through  its  classic  celebrity,  exer- 
cised a  great  prestige.  Its  moral  philosophy  was  recognized  by 
the  entire  world.91  The  Areopagus  thus  became,  under  Roman 
rule,  what  it  had  been  at  different  times  in  the  history  of  the 
Athenian  republic,  a  political  body  almost  devoid  of  judiciary 
functions,  —  the  true  Senate  of  Athens,  only  interfering  in  cer- 
tain cases,  and  constituting  the  conservative  nobility  of  retired 
functionaries.92  From  the  commencement  of  the  first  century 
of -our  era,  the  Areopagus  is  met  with  in  inscriptions  as  the  head 
of  Athenian  powers,  superior  to  the  council  of  six  hundred 
and  to  the  people.  The  erection  of  statues,  in  particular,  is 
done  by  it,  or  at  least  with  its  authorization.93  Even  in  the  years 
now  under  consideration,  it  had  decreed  a  statue  to  the  Queen 
Berenice,  daughter  of  Agrippa  the  First,  with  the  latter  of  whom 
we  shall  soon  see  Paul  in  connection.94  It  appears  that  the 
Areopagus  also  exercised  a  certain  administration  with  respect 
to  education.95  It  was  a  high  council,  —  a  religious,  moral  cen- 
sorship, which  had  jurisdiction  in  everything  ^concerning  the 
laws,  morals,  medicine,  luxury,  edileship,  and  the  religions  of 
the  city.96  Nor  is  it  improbable  that,  upon  the  appearance  of  a 
new  doctrine,  the  preacher  should  have  been  invited  to  go  and 
to  some  degree  make  his  declaration  to  such  a  tribunal,  or  at 
least  in  the  place  where  it  held  its  sittings.97  Paul,  it  is  said, 
standing  up  in  the  midst  of  the  assembly,  spoke 98  as  follows  :  — 

"  Athenians,  —  I  perceive  that  in  all  things  ye  are  too  re- 
ligious.99 For  as  I  passed  by,  and  beheld  your  devotions,  I 
found  an  altar  with  this  inscription,  To  the  unknown  God. 
Whom  therefore  ye  ignorantly  worship,  him  declare  1  unto 
you. 

"  God  that  made  the  world  and  all  things  therein,  seeing  that 
he  is  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  dwelleth  not  in  temples  made 
with  hands ;  neither  is  worshipped  with  men's  hands,  as  though 
he  needed  anything,  seeing  he  giveth  to  all  life,  and  breath,  and 


SAINT  PAUL.  137 

all  things ;  And  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  for 
to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  hath  determined  the 
times  before  appointed,  and  the  bounds  of  their  habitation ; 
That  they  should  seek  the  Lord,  if  haply  they  might  feel  after 
him,  and  find  him,  though  he  be  not  far  from  every  one  of  us : 
For  in  him  we  live  and  have  our  being ;  as  certain  also  of  your 
own  poets  have  said,  '  For  we  are  also  his  offspring.'  10°  Foras- 
much then  as  we  are  the  offspring  of  God,  we  ought  not  to 
think  that  the  Godhead  is  like  unto  gold,  or  silver,  or  stone, 
graven  by  art  and  man's  device.  And  the  times  of  this  ignorance 
God  winked  at ;  but  now  commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to 
repent :  Because  he  hath  appointed  a  day  in  the  which  he  will 
judge  the  world  in  righteousness,  by  that  man  whom  he  hath 
ordained ;  whereof  he  hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men,  in  that 
he  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead." 

At  these  words,  according  to  the  narrator,  Paul  was  inter- 
rupted. Hearing  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  spoken  of,  some 
began  to  jest.  The  more  courteous  said,  "We  will  hear  thee 
again  of  this  matter." 

If  the  discourse  we  have  just  quoted  was  really  pronounced, 
it  must  have  in  reality  caused  a  very  singular  impression  upon 
the  cultivated  minds  which  listened  to  it.  This  language,  at 
times  barbarous,  incorrect,  and  without  construction,  at  other 
times  full  of  justness ;  this  unstudied  eloquence,  filled  with  happy 
hits  and  disagreeable  faults ;  this  profound  philosophy,  bordering 
upon  strange  beliefs,  must  have  seemed  to  come  from  another 
world.  Immensely  superior  to  the  popular  religion  of  Greece, 
such  a  doctrine  fell,  in  many  respects,  below  the  current  phi- 
losophy of  the  century.  If,  on  the  one  side,  it  held  out  a  hand 
to  this  philosophy  by  its  high  conception  of  the  Divinity,  and  its 
moral  unity  of  the  human  species,  on  the  other  hand 101  it  con- 
tained a  portion  of  supernatural  beliefs  which  no  positive  mind 
could  admit.  At  any  rate,  it  is  not  surprising  it  did  not  succeed 
in  Athens.  The  motives  which  were  to  make  Christianity  sue- 
cessful  existed  elsewhere  than  in  circles  of  lettered  men.  They 

12* 


138  SAINT  PAUL. 

were  in  the  hearts  of  pious  women,  in  the  secret  aspirations  of 
the  poor,  the  slaves,  and  the  meek  of  all  classes.  Before  phi- 
losophy draws  near  to  the  new  doctrine,  it  will  be  necessaiy 
that  both  philosophy  should  become  much  weakened  and  that 
the  new  doctrine  should  have  renounced  the  great  chimera  of 
an  impending  judgment ;  that  is  to  say,  to  the  concrete  ideas 
which  were  the  envelope  of  its  first  formation. 

Whether  from  Paul  or  from  one  of  his  disciples,  this  discourse, 
at  any  rate,  shows  us  an  attempt,  almost  the  sole  one  of  the  first 
century,  to  conciliate  Christianity  with  philosophy,  and  even  in 
one  sense  with  paganism.  Affording  proof  of  a  broadness  of 
views  very  remarkable  in  a  Jew,  the  author  acknowledges  in  all 
races  a  sort  of  interior  sense  of  the  divine,  a  secret  instinct  of 
monotheism,  which  should  have  borne  them  towards  the  know- 
ledge of  the  true  God.  If  we  believe  him,  Christianity  is  nothing 
else  than  natural  religion,  to  which  one  might  arrive  by  simply 
consulting  his  heart  and  examining  himself  in  good  faith,  —  a 
two-faced  idea,  tending  at  times  to  bring  Christianity  and  Deism 
together ;  at  others,  inspiring  it  with  an  improper  pride.  This  is 
the  first  instance  of  the  tactics  of  certain  apologists  of  Chris- 
tianity making  advances  to  philosophy,  using  or  pretending  to 
use  scientific  language,  speaking  with  courtesy  or  politeness  of 
reason,  which  they  decry  on  the  other  hand,  wishing  to  give  to 
understand,  by  skillfully  grouped  quotations,  that  in  the  main 
they  can  agree  with  men  of  letters,  but  leading  to  inevitable  mis- 
understandings so  soon  as  they  explain  themselves  clearly,  and 
speak  of  their  supernatural  dogmas.  We  perceive  already  the 
effort  to  translate  Jewish  and  Christian  ideas  into  the  language 
of  Grecian  philosophy.  We  catch  a  glimpse  of  Clement  of  Alex- 
andria and  Origen.  Biblical  ideas  and  those  of  Greek  philoso- 
phy aspire  to  embrace  each  other ;  but  for  that  they  will  nej^d 
make  many  concessions  to  each  other,  for  this  God  in  whom 
we  live  and  moVe  is  very  different  from  the  Jehovah  of  the 
prophets  and  Heavenly  Father  of  Jesus. 

The  times  are  not  yet  ripe  enough  for  such  an  alliance ;  be- 


SAINT  PAUL.  139 

sides,  it  is  not  at  Athens  that  it  will  take  place.  Athens,  at  the 
point  to  which  centuries  had  brought  her  —  this  city  of  gram- 
marians, gymnasts,  and  fencing-masters  —  was  as  ill-disposed  as 
possible  to  receive  Christianity.  The  mercenariness,  the  hardness 
of  heart,  of  the  man  of  education,  are  unpardonable  sins  in  the 
eyes  of  grace.  The  pedagogue  is  the  least  convertible  of  men ; 
for  he  has  a  religion  of  his  own,  namely,  his  routine,  faith  in  his 
old  authors,  and  taste  for  his  literary  exercises.  This  contents 
him,  and  extinguishes  in  him  every  other  need.  There  have 
been  found  at  Athens  a  series  of  Mercury-busts  of  cosmetes103 
of  the  second  century.  They  are  handsome  men,  grave,  ma- 
jestic, of  a  noble,  and  still  Hellenic  mien.  Inscriptions  inform 
us  of  the  honors  and  pensions  which  were  conferred  upon 
them.103  The  truly  great  men  of  the  ancient  democracy  never 
had  as  much.  Assuredly,  if  St.  Paul  met  any  one  of  the  pre- 
decessors of  these  haughty  pedants,  he  would  not  have  had  any 
more  success  with  him  than  a  romantic  follower  of  neo-catholi- 
cism  would  have  had  in  the  time  of  the  empire  in  trying  to  con- 
vert to  his  ideas  a  student  attached  to  the  religion  of  Horace, 
or  than  a  humanitarian  socialist  would  have  in  declaiming  against 
English  prejudices  before  the  fellows  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge. 
In  a  society  so  different  from  that  in  which  he  had  lived  until 
now ;  in  the  midst  of  rhetoricians  and  professors  of  fencing,  Paul 
found  himself,  as  it  were,  entirely  within  another  world.  His 
thoughts  reverted  unceasingly  to  his  loved  churches  of  Mace- 
donia and  Galatia,  where  he  had  met  with  so  exquisite  a  religious 
sentiment.  Several  times  he  thought  of  setting  out  for  Thessa- 
lonica.104  A  strong  desire  was  influencing  him,  and  the  more  so 
as  he  had  received  news  that  the  faith  of  the  young  church  was 
submitted  to  many  trials.  He  was  fearful  lest  his  neophytes 
should  yield  to  the  temptations.105  Obstacles,  which  he  at- 
tributes to  Satan,  prevented  him  from  following  out  this  plan. 
Resigning  it,  as  he  says  himself,  he  again  deprived  himself  of 
Timothy,  —  sent  him  to  Thessalonica  to  strengthen,  exhort,  and 
console  the  faithful,  and  remained  once  more  alone  at  Athens.108 


140  SAINT  PAUL. 

Again  he  set  to  work  there ;  but  the  soil  was  too  ungrateful. 
The  lively  spirit  of  the  Athenians  was  the  contrary  of  that 
religious  disposition,  tender  and  deep,  which  made  conversions 
and  predestined  to  Christianity.  The  really  Hellenic  lands  took 
but  slight  interest  in  the  doctrine  of  Jesus.  Plutarch,  living  in 
an  atmosphere  purely  Greek,  has  not  as  yet  the  slightest  breath 
of  it  in  the  first  half  of  the  second  century.  Patriotism,  at- 
tachment to  the  recollections  of  the  country,  turned  ^the  Greeks 
away  from  exotic  religions.  "  Hellenism"  became  an  organized 
religion,  almost  reasonable,  admitting  a  large  part  of  philosophy. 
The  "gods  of  Greece"  seemed  to  wish  to  be  humanity's  uni- 
versal gods. 

What  formerly  characterized  the  religion  of  the  Greek,  what 
characterizes  it  in  our  day,  is  the  lack  of  the  infinite,  of  the  vague, 
of  emotion,  of  feminine  gentleness.  The  depth  of  the  German 
and  Celtic  religious  sentiment  is  wanting  in  the  pure  Hellenic 
race.  The  piety  of  the  orthodox  Greek  consists  in  practices 
and  exterior  signs.  The  orthodox  churches,  at  times  very 
elegant,  possess  none  of  the  terrors  of  a  Gothic  church.107  In 
this  oriental  Christianity  there  are  no  tears,  no  prayers,  no 
inward  contrition.  There,  burials  are  almost  gay,  taking  place 
in  the  evening,  towards  sunset,  when  the  shadows  are  long, 
with  low  chanting  and  a  display  of  gaudy  colors.  The  fanatical 
gravity  of  the  Latins  displeases  these  mild,  lively,  frivolous  races. 
The  infirm  is  not  discouraged  there ;  he  calmly  awaits  death ; 
everything  smiles  around  him.  This  is  the  secret  of  that  divine 
gayety  in  the  Homeric  poems  and  in  Plato.  The  recital  of 
Socrates'  death  in  the  Phcedo  scarcely  displays  a  tinge  of  sorrow. 
Life  is  the  giving  of  the  blossom,  and  then  the  fruit, — what  more  ? 
If,  as  it  may  be  sustained,  anticipation  of  death  is  the  most 
important  feature  of  Christianity,  and  of  the  modern  religious 
sentiment,  then  the  Greek  race  is  the  least  religious  of  races.  It 
is  a  superficial  race,  looking  upon  life  as  a  thing  without  aught 
of  supernatural  or  after-plan.  Such  a  simplicity  of  conception 
results  in  a  great  measure  from  the  climate,  from  the  purity  of 


SAINT  PAUL.  141 

the  air,  from  the  wonderful  joy  that  one  breathes  in,  but  still 
more  from  the  instincts  of  the  Hellenic  race,  adorably  idealistic. 
A  nothing,  a  tree,  a  flower,  a  lizard,  a  tortoise,  giving  rise  to  the 
recollection  of  a  thousand  metamorphoses  sung  by  the  poets ;  a 
thread  of  water ;  a  little  hollow  in  the  rock,  which  they  term  a 
nymph's  cave;  a  well  with  a  cup  on  the  curb-stone ;  a  strait. of 
the  sea,  so  narrow  that  the  butterflies  cross  it  and  still  navigable 
for  the  largest  vessels,  as  at  Poros ;  orange-trees,  cypresses,  of 
which  the  shade  extends  upon  the  sea ;  a  little  forest  of  pines  in 
the  midst  of  rocks ;  —  are  sufficient  in  Greece  to  produce  the 
contentment  awakened  by  beauty.  Walking  in  the  gardens  at 
night,  listening  to  the  locusts,  sitting  in  the  moonlight  while 
playing  the  flute,  going  to  the  mountain  for  water  and  taking  with 
them  a  little  roll  of  bread,  a  fish,  and  a  cyathus  of  wine,  which 
is  drunk  while  singing;  in  family  festivities,  hanging  a  crown 
of  leaves  over  their  door,  or  going  with  flowers  in  their  hats ;  on 
public  fete  days,  carrying  the  thyrsus  ornamented  with  leaves ; 
passing  whole  days  in  dancing,  playing  with  tame  goats, — 
such  are  Greek  pleasures,  the  pleasures  of  a  race,  poor,  eco- 
nomical, eternally  young,  inhabiting  a  beautiful  country,  finding 
their  fortune  in  themselves  and  in  the  gifts  which  the  gods  have 
made  them.108  The  pastoral,  after  the  manner  of  Theocritus, 
was  a  reality  in  Hellenic  countries.  Greece  always  took  pleasure 
in  this  little  species  of  fine  and  pleasing  poetry,  one  of  the  most 
characteristic  of  her  literature,  the  mirror  of  her  own  life ;  almost 
everywhere  else,  foolish  and  fictitious.  Good-humor,  joy  at 
living,  are  things  preeminently  Greek.  This  race  is  always 
twenty  years  old.  For  them,  indulgere  genio  is  not  the  dull 
intoxication  of  the  Englishman,  the  gross  diversion  of  the 
Frenchman.  It  is  simply  thinking  that  nature  is  good,  and  that 
one  can  and  should  yield  to  it.  In  fact,  nature,  for  the  Greek, 
is  a  counsellor  in  matters  of  elegance,  a  mistress  teaching  recti- 
tude and  virtue.  "  Concupiscence,"  that  idea  that  nature  leads 
us  to  do  wrong,  is  nonsense  to  him.  The  taste  for  dress  which 
distinguishes  the  palicare,  and  which  displays  itself  with  so  much 


142  SAINT  PAUL. 

innocence  in  the  Greek  maiden,  is  not  the  pompous  vanity  of 
the  barbarian,  the  foolish  airs  of  the  bourgeoise,  puffed  up  with 
the  ridiculous  pride  of  an  upstart.  It  is  the  pure  and  delicate 
sentiment  of  ingenuous  maidens,  conscious  of  being  the  youths 
and  offspring  the  true  inventors  of  the  beautiful. 

Such  a  race,  we  can  imagine,  would  have  received  Jesus  with 
a  smile.  There  was  one  thing  which  these  exquisite  children 
could  not  learn  from  us  :  profound  gravity,  simple  honesty,  devo- 
tion without  ostentation,  kindness  without  bombast.  Socrates 
is  a  moralist  of  the  first  order,  but  he  has  no  position  in 
religious  history.  The  Greek  always  appears  to  us  a  little  blunt 
and  heartless.  He  has  wit,  action,  and  acuteness ;  he  has  nothing 
dreamy  or  melancholy  about  him.  We  Celts  and  Germans, 
with  us  our  hearts  are  the  sources  of  our  genius.  The  depths 
of  our  nature  are  like  a  fairy  fountain,  clear,  green,  and  deep, 
in  which  the  Infinite  is  reflected.  With  the  Greek,  self-love 
and  vanity  are  mingled  with  everything;  vague  sentiment  is 
unknown  to  him;  reflection  upon  his  own  destiny  appears 
insipid  to  him.  Made  the  subject  of  caricature,  his  crude  way 
of  understanding  life  gives  to  the  Roman  period  the  graculus 
esuriens,  grammarian,  artist,  charlatan,  acrobat,  physician, 
amuser  of  the  whole  world,  very  similar  to  the  Italian  of  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries ;  to  the  Byzantine  epoch,  the 
sophistical  theologian,  causing  religion  to  degenerate  into  subtle 
disputes ;  to  our  day,  the  modern  Greek,  at  times  extremely 
vain  and  ungrateful,  —  the  orthodox  papas,  with  his  egotistical  and 
material  religion.  Woe  to  him  who  pauses  at  this  decadence ! 
Shame  upon  him,  who,  in  the  presence  of  the  Parthenon,  thinks 
of  observing  anything  ridiculous !  We  must  acknowledge  it, 
however.  Greece  never  was  seriously  Christian;  she  is  not  so 
yet.  No  race  ever  was  less  romantic,  less  endowed  with  the 
chivalric  sentiment  of  our  modern  age.  Plato  bases  his  entire 
theory  of  beauty  upon  doing  without  woman.  Think  of  a 
woman  in  order  to  encourage  one's  self  to  perform  brilliant 
actions !  A  Greek  would  have  been  astounded  at  such  language. 


SAINT  PAUL.  143 

he  thought  of  men  assembled  in  the  Agora;  he  thought  of  his 
country.  In  this  respect,  the  Latins  were  nearer  us.  Greek 
poetry,  incomparable  in  the  great  species  such  as  the  epos, 
tragedy,  and  disinterested  lyric  poetry,  had  not,  it  appears,  the 
sweet  elegiac  tone  of  Tibullus,  Virgil,  Lucretius,  —  a  tone  so 
beautifully  in  harmony  with  our  sentiments,  so  near  to  what 
we  love. 

The  same  difference  is  found  between  the  piety  of  St.  Bernard, 
St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  and  that  of  the  saints  of  the  Greek 
church.  These  beautiful  schools  of  Cappadocia,  Syria,  Egypt,  of 
the  fathers  of  the  desert,  are  almost  philosophical  schools.  The 
popular  hagiographa  of  the  Greeks  is  more  mythological  than  that 
of  the  Latins.  The  most  of  the  saints  who  figure  in  the  icono- 
stasis  of  a  Greek  house,  and  before  whom  a  lamp  is  kept  burning, 
are  not  great  founders,  great  men,  like  the  saints  of  the  Occident. 
They  are  fantastic  beings,  ancient  gods  transfigured,  or  at  least 
combinations  of  historical  and  mythological  personages,  like  St. 
George.  And  this  wonderful  church  of  St.  Sophia,  why,  it  is  an 
Arian  temple ;  the  entire  human  species  might  offer  its  prayers 
there.  Never  having  had  a  pope,  inquisition,  scholastic  theology, 
or  barbarous  middle  age, — having  always  preserved  a  leaven 
of  Arianism,  Greece  will  give  up  supernatural  Christianity  more 
easily  than  any  country,  in  the  same  way  as  those  Athenians 
were  formerly,  thanks  to  a  sort  of  levity,  a  thousand  times 
more  profound  than  the  seriousness  of  our  dull  races,  and  still 
the  most  superstitious  people,  and  the  nearest  to  rationalism. 
The  popular  Greek  songs  are  in  our  day  full  of  pagan  images 
and  pagan  ideas.109  Most  different  from  the  Occident,  the  Orient 
preserved,  during  the  middle  ages  and  up  to  modern  times, 
true  "  Hellenists,"  in  the  main  more  pagan  than  Christian, 
living  in  the  religion  of  the  old  Greek  fatherland  and  of  the  old 
authors.110  These  Hellenists  were,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  the 
agents  of  the  new  birth  of  the  Occident,  to  which  they  carried 
the  Greek  texts,  basis  of  all  civilization.  The  same  spirit  has 
presided111  and  will  preside  over  the  destinies  of  new  Greece. 


144  SAINT  PAUL. 

When  we  have  well  studied  what  constitutes  in  our  day  the 
character  of  a  cultivated  Hellene,  we  see  that  he  has  very  little 
Christianity  about  him.  He  is  Christian  in  form,  as  a  Persian 
is  Mussulman,  but  at  bottom  he  is  "  Hellenist."  His  religion  is 
the  adoration  of  the  ancient  Greek  genius.  He  pardons  every 
heresy  to  the  philhellene,  to  him  who  admires  his  past.  He  is 
much  less  the  disciple  of  Jesus  and  St.  Paul  than  of  Plutarch 
and  Julian. 

Tired  with  his  want  of  success  in  Athens,  Paul,  without 
awaiting  the  return  of  Timothy,112  set  out  for  Corinth.  He  had 
not  established  an  extensive  church  at  Athens.113  Only  a  few 
isolated  persons,  among  others  a  certain  Dionysius,  a  member 
it  is  said  of  the  Areopagus,114  and  a  woman  named  Damaris,115 
had  adhered  to  his  doctrines.  This  was  the  first  and  almost  the 
only  check  he  met  with  in  his  apostolic  career. 

Even  in  the  second  century,  the  church  of  Athens  lacks 
stability.116  Athens  was  one  of  the  last  cities  to  be  converted.117 
Next  to  Constantirie,  it  was  the  second  in  opposition  to  Chris- 
tianity, a  bulwark  of  philosophy.118  By  a  rare  privilege,  it  kept 
its  temples  undisturbed.  These  prodigious  monuments,  pre- 
served for  ages,  thanks  to  a  sort  of  instinctive  respect,  were 
destined  to  come  down  to  us  as  an  eternal  lesson  of  good  sense 
and  honesty  given  by  artists  of  genius.  Still  in  our  day  we  feel 
that  the  layer  of  Christianity  which  covers  the  old  Pagan  basis 
is  here  very  superficial.  There  is  scarcely  need  of  modifying 
the  actual  names  of  the  churches  of  Athens  in  order  to  discover 
those  of  the  antique  temples.119 


SAINT  PAUL.  145 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

CONTINUATION   OF  THE   SECOND    JOURNEY   OF   PAUL. FIRST 

SOJOURN   AT    CORINTH. 

PAUL,  having  set  out  from  Phaleria  or  from  the  Piraeus,  landed 
at  Cenchrea,  which  was  the  port  of  Corinth  on  the  Egean  sea. 
It  is  quite  a  good  little  harbor,  surrounded  by  green  hills  and 
pine  forests,1  at  the  head  of  the  Saronic  gulf.  A  beautiful  val- 
ley, nearly  two  leagues3  in  width,  leads  from  this  port  to  the 
great  city  built  at  the  foot  of  the  colossal  dome  from  which  the 
two  seas  are  visible. 

Corinth 3  offered  a  field  much  better  prepared  than  Athens  to 
receive  the  new  seed.  It  was  not*  like  Athens,  a  sort  of  sanc- 
tuary of  the  mind,  a  city  sacred  and  unique  in  the  world.  It 
was  scarcely  a  Hellenic  city.4  Old  Corinth  had  been  utterly 
destroyed  by  Mummius.  For  a  hundred  years,  the  soil  of  the 
Achaian  league  was  a  desert.5  In  the  year  44  B.  c.,  Julius 
Csesar  rebuilt  the  city,  and  made  an  important  Roman  colony 
of  it,  peopling  it  with  freedmen.6  That  is  sufficient  to  say 
that  its  population  was  very  mixed.7  It  was  composed  of  a 
collection  of  those  people,  of  all  sorts  and  origins,  who  liked 
Caesar.  The  new  Corinthians  remained  for  a  long  while  stran- 
gers to  Greece,  where  they  were  regarded  as  intruders.8  They 
had  for  amusements  the  brutal  games  of  the  Romans,  repulsive 
to  the  true  Greeks.9  Thus  Corinth  became,  like  so  many  others 
on  the  borders  of  the  Mediterranean,  a  very  populous  city,10 
—  rich,  brilliant,  frequented  by  numerous  strangers,  centre  of 
an  active  commerce ;  in  a  word,  one  of  those  mixed  cities 
which  were  no  longer  native  lands.  The  characteristic  feature 
which  rendered  its  name  proverbial  was  the  extreme  corruption 
of  manners  displayed  there.11  In  this  respect,  again,  it  constituted 
an  exception  among  the  Hellenic  cities.  The  true  Greek 
13 


146  SAINT  PAUL. 

manners  were  simple  and  gay.  They  could  in  no  wise  pass 
for  luxurious  and  corrupt.12  The  multitude  of  sailors  drawn  to- 
gether by  the  two  ports  had  made  Corinth  the  last  sanctuary  of 
Venus  Pandemos,  —  a  remnant  of  the  ancient  Phenician  estab- 
lishments.13 The  great  temple  of  Venus  contained  more  than  a 
thousand  sacred  courtesans.  The  entire  city  was  like  a  vast  evil 
resort,  where  numerous  strangers,  above  all  sailors,  went  to 
spend  their  fortunes  foolishly.14 

There  was  a  colony  of  Jews  at  Corinth,13  probably  established 
at  Cenchrea,  —  that  one  of  the  ports  which  was  engaged  in 
commerce  with  the  Orient.16  A  short  time  before  Paul's 
arrival,  there  had  landed  a  band  of  Jews  driven  out  of  Rome  by 
the  edict  of  Claudius,  and  having  among  their  number  Aquila 
and  Priscilla,  who  already  at  this  period,  it  appears,  professed 
the  faith  of  Christ.17  From  all  this  there  resulted  a  very  favor- 
able conjuncture  of  circumstances.  The  isthmus  formed  be- 
tween the  two  main  portions  of  the  Greek  continent  has  always 
been  the  centre  of  an  universal  commerce.  Here  also  there  was 
one  of  those  emporiaj*  without  any  regard  to  race  and  nation- 
ality, destined  to  be  the  bureaus^  if  I  may  presume  to  express 
myself  so,  of  growing  Christianity.  New  Corinth,  precisely  on 
account  of  its  small  number  of  Hellenic  nobility,  was  already  a 
half  Christian  city.  With  Antioch,  Ephesus,  Thessalonica,  and 
Rome,  it  will  be  an  ecclesiastical  metropolis  of  the  highest  rank. 
But  the  immorality  which  existed  there,  might,  at  the  same  time, 
lead  us  to  conjecture  that  the  first  abuses  in  the  history  of  the 
church  would  take  place  there.  In  a  few  years,  Corinth  will 
present  us  a  spectacle  of  incestuous  Christians  and  drunken 
people  seated  at  the  table  of  Christ. 

Paul  quickly  saw  that  it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  remain 
a  long  while  in  Corinth.  Therefore  he  resolved  to  establish 
himself  permanently  there,  and  to  work  at  his  trade  as  tent- 
maker.  Now  Aquila  and  Priscilla  followed  precisely  the  same 
calling  as  himself.  He  therefore  went  to  live  with  them,  and 
the  three  established  a  little  shop,  which  they  filled  with  articles 
wrought  by  themselves.19 


SAINT  PAUL.  147 

Timothy,  whom  he  had  sent  from  Athens  to  Thessalonica, 
soon  rejoined  him.  The  news  from  the  church  of  Thessalonica 
was  excellent.  All  the  faithful  were  persevering  in  faith  and 
charity,  and  in  attachment  to  their  master.  The  vexations  of 
their  fellow-citizens  had  not  shaken  them.20  Their  beneficent 
action  had  extended  over  all  Macedonia.21  Silas,  whom  Paul 
had  not  seen  since  his  flight  from  Berea,  probably  joined  Timo- 
thy and  returned  with  him.  Certain  it  is  that  the  three  com- 
panions found  themselves  reunited  in  Corinth,  and  lived  there  a 
long  while  together.38 

The  efforts  of  Paul,  as  usual,  were  first  directed  toward  the 
Jews.  Each  Sabbath,  he  spoke  in  the  synagogue.23  He  found 
very  diverse  dispositions  there.  One  family,  that  of  Stephane- 
phorus,  or  Stephanas,  was  converted,  and  all  its  members  bap 
tized  by  Paul.34  The  orthodox  ones  resisted  energetically;  and 
it  terminated  in  insults  and  blasphemy.  Finally,  one  day  the 
rupture  became  complete.  Paul  shook  off  the  dust  of  his 
clothes  upon  the  unbelievers  present,  made  them  responsible  for 
the  consequences,  and  declared  that,  since  they  closed  their  ears 
to  the  truth,  he  would  go  to  the  Gentiles.  Having  said  these 
words,  he  left  the  room.  Henceforth,  he  taught  in  the  house  of 
a  certain  Titius  Justus,25  a  devout  man,  whose  house  was  near 
to  the  synagogue.  Crispus,  the  chief  ruler  of  the  Jewish  com 
munity,  became  a  partisan  of  Paul's.  He  was  converted,  to- 
gether with  his  whole  household,  and  Paul  baptized  him  himself, 
—  a  thing  which  he  did  rarely.28 

Many  others  of  the  Jews,  heathens,  or  "  those  fearing  God," 
were  baptized.  The  number  of  converted  heathen  appears  to 
have  been  very  large  here.37  Paul  displayed  a  wonderful  zeal. 
Divine  visions  appeared  to  him  by  night  to  strengthen  him.38 
The  report  of  the  conversions  which  he  had  made  at  Thessa- 
lonica had,  moreover,  preceded  him,  and  favorably  disposed  the 
pious  society  toward  him29.  Supernatural  phenomena  were  not 
wanting ; 30  Jhere  were  miracles  performed.31  Here,  innocence 
was  not  the  same  as  at  Philippi  and  Thessalonica.  The  bad 


148  SAINT  PAUL. 

morals  of  Corinth  sometimes  crossed  the  threshold  of  the  church. 
At  least,  all  those  who  entered  it  were  not  equally  pure.  But, 
as  an  offset,  few  churches  were  more  numerous.  The  commu- 
nity of  Corinth  branched  out  through  the  entire  province  of 
Achaia,32  and  became  the  home  of  Christianity  in  the  Hellenic 
peninsula.  Without  mentioning  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  who 
almost  rank  as  apostles,  Titius  Justus,  Crispus,  or  Stephanas, 
already  spoken  of,  the  church  numbered  among  its  members 
Gaius,  who  was  likewise  baptized  by  Paul,  and  at  whose  house 
the  apostle  sojourned  upon  his  second  visit  to  Corinth; 
Quartus,  Achaicus,  Fortunatus,  Erastus,  —  quite  an  important 
personage,  —  treasurer  of  the  city,  —  and  a  lady  named  Chloe, 
who  had  a  numerous  household.33  We  have  only  vague  and 
uncertain  information  of  a  certain  Zenas,  a  Jewish  lawyer.34 
Stephanas  and  his  house  formed  the  most  influential  group,  the 
one  of  most  authority.35  All  the  converts,  in  a  word,  if  we 
except  Erastus,  were  ordinary  people,  without  great  instruction 
or  social  distinction, — in  a  word,  belonging  to  the  lowest 
classes.36 

The  port  of  Cenchrea  also  had  its  church.  Cenchrea  was 
inhabited  principally  by  orientals.37  Isis  and  Eschmoun  were 
worshipped  here.  The  Phenician  Venus  was  not  neglected.38 
It  was,  like  Kalamaki  in  our  day,  less  a  city  than  a  heap  of  shops 
and  inns  for  sailors.  In  the  midst  of  the  degradation  of  these  low 
mariners'  retreats,  Christianity  performed  its  miracle.  Cenchrea 
had  an  admirable  deaconess,  who,  one  day,  as  we  shall  after- 
ward see,  concealed  under  the  folds  of  her  robe  the  whole  future 
of  the  Christian  theology — the  writing  which  was  to  regulate  the 
fate  of  the  world.  Her  name  was  Phebe.  She  was  an  active, 
stirring  person,  always  eager  to  render  service,  and  who  was 
very  dear  to  Paul.39 

Paul's  sojourn  at  Corinth  lasted  eighteen  months.40  The 
beautiful  rock  of  Aero-Corinth,  the  white  summits  of  Helicon 
and  Parnassus,  refreshed  his  gaze  for  a  long  while.  Paul 
contracted  profound  friendships  in  this  new  religious  family; 


SAINT  PAUL.  149 

although  the  taste  of  the  Greeks  for  disputation  displeased  him, 
and  more  than  once  his  natural  timidity  must  have  been  in- 
creased by  the  inclination  of  his  auditors  to  subtlety.41  He 
could  not  keep  his  thoughts  from  Thessalonica,  from  the  simplicity 
which  he  had  found  there,  the  warm  affection  which  he  had  left 
there.  The  church  of  Thessalonica  was  the  model  of  which  he 
did  not  cease  to  preach,42  and  to  which  he  always  made  allusion. 
Nor  did  the  church  at  Philippi,  with  its  pious  women,  its  rich 
and  good  Lydian,  allow  itself  to  be  forgotten.  This  church,  as 
we  have  seen,  enjoyed  a  singular  privilege,  that  of  maintaining 
the  apostle,  when  his  labor  failed  to  do  so.  At  Corinth,  he 
again  received  assistance  from  her.  As  if  the  somewhat  trifling 
nature  of  the  Corinthians,  and  of  the  Greeks  in  general,  had 
inspired  him  with  distrust,  he  did  not  wish  to  be  indebted  to 
them  in  this  respect,  although  more  than  once  he  had  found 
himself  in  need  during  his  sojourn  among  them.43 

It  was  difficult,  nevertheless,  for  the  displeasure  of  the  ortho- 
dox Jews,  still  so  active,  not  to  give  rise  to  some  disturbance. 
The  preaching  of  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  his  broad  prin- 
ciples concerning  the  adoption  of  all  those  who  should  believe, 
and  their  incorporation  into  the  family  of  Abraham,  irritated 
to  the  highest  degree  the  partisans  of  the  exclusive  privilege  of 
the  children  of  Israel.  The  apostle,  on  his  side,  often  berated 
them  in  the  severest  terms.  He  announced  that  the  wrath  of 
God  was  going  to  burst  upon  them.44  The  Jews  had  recourse 
to  Roman  authority.  Corinth  "was  the  capital  of  the  province 
of  Achaia,  comprising  all  Greece,  and  what  was  generally  united 
to  Macedonia.  The  two  provinces  had  been  rendered  senato- 
rial by  Claudius,45  and  as  such  they  had  a  proconsul.  At  the 
period  now  under  consideration,  this  office  was  filled  by  one  of 
the  most  genial  and  best  instructed  personages  of  the  century, 
Marcus  Annseus  Novatus,  eldest  brother  of  Seneca,  who  had 
been  adopted  by  the  rhetorician,  L.  Junius  Gallic,  one  of  the 
litterateurs  of  the  society  of  the  Senecas.46  Marcus  Annasus 
Novatus  took  the  name  of  Gallio.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  mind 
13* 


150  SAINT  PAUL. 

and  noble  soul,  the  friend  of  the  poets  and  celebrated  writers.47 
All  those  that  knew  him  worshipped  him.  Statius  called  him 
dulcis  Gallio ;  and  perhaps  he  is  the  author  of  some  of  the 
tragedies  which  proceeded  from  this  literary  c&naculum.  He 
wrote,  it  appears,  upon  natural  questions.48  His  brother  dedi- 
cated to  him  his  books  on  Anger  and  the  Happy  Life.  They 
attributed  to  him  one  of  the  most  witty  sayings  of  the  period.49 
It  appears  that  it  was  his  extensive  Hellenic  culture  which 
caused  him  to  be  chosen,  under  the  lettered  Claudius,  for  the 
administration  of  the  province  which  all  governments,  at  all 
enlightened,  overwhelmed  with  delicate  attentions.50  His  health 
obliged  him  to  abandon  this  position.  Like  his  brother,  he  had 
the  honor,  under  Nero,  of  atoning  by  death  for  his  distinction 
and  uprightness.51 

Such  a  man  must  have  been  little  inclined  to  receive  the  de- 
mands of  fanatics,  coming  to  ask  the  civil  power  against  which 
they  protest  in  secret  to  free  them  of  their  enemies.  One  day, 
Sosthenes,  the  new  chief  of  the  synagogue,  who  had  succeeded 
Crispus,  led  Paul  before  the  tribunal,  accusing  him  of  preaching 
a  religion  contrary  to  the  law.52  In  fact,  Judaism,  which  had  its 
old  privileges  and  all  sorts  of  guarantees,  pretended  that  the 
dissenting  sect,  so  soon  as  it  separated  from  the  synagogue,  no 
longer  enjoyed  the  rights  of  the  synagogue.  The  situation  was  the 
same  as  that  the  liberal  Protestants  in  French  law  would  have, 
the  moment  they  should  separate  themselves  from  recognized 
Protestantism.  Paul  was  going  to  reply,  when  Gallio  stopped 
him,  and,  turning  to  the  Jews,  said,  "If -it  were  a  matter  of 
wrong,  or  wicked  lewdness,  reason  would  that  I  should  bear 
with  you ;  but  if  it  be  a  question  of  words  and  names,  and  of 
your  law,  look  ye  to  it,  for  I  will  be  no  judge  of  such  matters."53 
An  admirable  reply !  —  worthy  to  be  a  model  to  civil  govern- 
ments, when  they  are  invited  to  meddle  with  religious  questions. 
Gallio,  after  having  given  it,  ordered  both  parties  to  be  driven 
away.  A  great  tumult  took  place.  Everybody,  as  if  vying 
with  one  another,  fell  upon  Sosthenes,  and  began  to  beat  him 


SAINT  PAUL.  151 

before  the  judgment-seat.  It  was  impossible  to  tell  where  the 
blows  came  from.64  Gallic  took  no  notice  of  it,  and  had  the 
place  cleared.  The  politic  sage  had  avoided  interfering  in  a 
quarrel  of  dogma,  —  the  well-bred  man  refused  to  mingle  in 
a  dispute  among  vulgar  people.  And  as  soon  as  he  saw  them 
beginning  to  use  violence,  he  sent  them  all  away. 

Assuredly  it  would  have  been  wiser  not  to  manifest  so  much 
disdain.  Gallic  was  well  inspired  in  declaring  himself  incom- 
petent in  a  question  of  schism  and  heresy.  But  how  little  fore- 
sight men  of  intelligence  sometimes  have  !  At  a  later  period,  it 
was  found  that  the  quarrel  of  these  abject  sectarians  was  the 
great  question  of  the  century.  If,  instead  of  treating  the  reli- 
gious and  social  question  in  this  oft-hand  manner,  the  govern- 
ment had  given  itself  the  trouble  to  institute  a  thoroughly  im- 
partial investigation  ;  to  establish  a  solid  public  instruction,  and 
not  continue  to  give  official  sanction  to  a  religion  which  had 
become  completely  absurd ;  if  Gallic  had  been  willing  to  have 
explained  to  him  what  a  Jew  and  a  Christian  were,  to  read  the 
Jewish  books,  and  keep  himself  posted  on  what  was  taking  place 
in  this  subterranean  world;  if  the  Romans  had  not  had  such 
narrow  and  such  unscientific  minds ;  —  many  misfortunes  might 
have  been  prevented.  Strange  thing !  Here  are,  face  to  face, 
on  the  one  hand,  one  of  the  most  intelligent  and  inquisitive 
men ;  on  the  other,  one  of  the  strongest  and  most  original  souls 
of  his  day  ;  and  they  pass  in  front  of  each  other  without  coming 
in  contact ;  and  surely,  if  the  blows  had  fallen  upon  Paul,  instead 
of  Sosthenes,  Gallic  would  have  manifested  equal  indifference. 
One  of  the  things  which  make  people  of  the  world  commit  most 
errors  is  that  slight  feeling  of  repulsiveness  excited  within  them 
by  badly-bred  or  ill-mannered  persons ;  for  manners  are  only  a 
matter  of  form,  and  those  who  have  none  sometimes  find  them- 
selves in  the  right.  The  man  of  society,  with  his  frivolous  dis- 
likes, almost  always  passes  unconsciously  by  the  man  who  is 
about  to  create  the  future.  They  are  not  of  the  same  world ; 


152  SAINT  PAUL. 

for  the  common  mistake  of  society  people,  is  to  imagine  that  the 
world  that  they  see  is  the  whole  world. 

These  difficulties,  however,  were  not  the  only  ones  the  apostle 
encountered.  The  mission  of  Corinth  was  troubled  by  obstacles 
which  he  met  for  the  first  time  in  his  apostolic  career, — 
obstacles  arising  from  the  interior  of  the  church  itself,  —  intrac- 
table men,  who  had  gained  admittance  there,  and  who  resisted 
him ;  or  rather  Jews,  drawn  towards  Jesus,  but  less  freed  than  Paul 
from  the  legal  observances.55  The  false  spirit  of  the  degenerate 
Greek,  which,  dating  from  the  fourth  century,  so  materially 
altered  Christianity,  already  manifested  itself.  Then  the  apostle 
recollected  his  dear  churches  of  Macedonia,  —  that  unlimited 
gentleness,  that  purity  of  morals,  that  frank  cordiality,  which,  at 
Philippi  and  Thessalonica  had  afforded  him  such  happy  days. 
He  was  seized  with  a  strong  desire  to  revisit  his  faithful  ones  of 
the  north ;  and,  when  he  received  from  them  an  expression  of 
the  same  desires,  he  could  scarcely  restrain  himself.56  In  order 
to  afford  himself  consolation  in  the  troubles  and  importunities 
of  the  world  which  surrounded  him,  he  took  pleasure  in  writing 
to  them.  The  epistles  dated  from  Corinth  are  tinged  with 
a  certain  sadness,  nattering  in  the  highest  degree  for  those  to 
whom  Paul  wrote.  These  letters  are  either  completely  silent, 
or  else  contain  a  few  unfavorable  allusions57  in  regard  to  those 
from  whose  midst  they  are  written. 


SAINT  PAUL.  153 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CONTINUATION  OF  THE   SECOND   JOURNEY  OF  PAUL.  —  FIRST 
EPISTLES. — INTERIOR  STATE  OF  THE  NEW  CHURCHES. 

IT  was  at  Corinth  that  the  apostolic  life  of  Paul  attained  its 
highest  degree  of  activity.  To  the  cares  of  the  great  Christen- 
dom which  he  was  occupied  in  founding  were  joined  the  pre- 
occupation in  respect  to  the  communities  which  he  had  left 
behind  him.  A  sort  of  jealousy  (as  he  says  himself)1  was  preying 
upon  him.  He  thought  less,  at  this  moment,  of  establishing  new 
churches,  than  of  watching  over  those  which  he  had  formed. 
Each  one  of  his  churches  was  for  him  like  a  bride  which  he  had 
promised  to  Christ,  and  whom  he  wished  to  keep  pure.2  The 
power  which  he  assumed  over  these  corporations  was  absolute. 
A  certain  number  of  rules  which  he  regarded  as  having  been 
established  by  Jesus  himself  were  the  only  canonical  rights  an- 
terior to  him  that  he  recognized.  He  regarded  himself  divinely 
inspired  to  add  to  these  rules  all  vthose  demanded  by  the  new 
circumstances  through  which  they  had  to  pass.3  Was  not  his 
example,  moreover,  a  supreme  rule  to  which  all  his  spiritual 
sons  were  to  conform  ? 4 

Timothy,  whom  he  employed  to  visit  the  distant  churches, 
could  not,  had  he  been  indefatigable,  satisfy  the  unlimited  ardor 
of  his  master.  It  was  then  that  Paul  conceived  the  idea  of 
supplying  by  correspondence  what  was  impossible  for  him  to  do 
by  himself  or  by  his  principal  disciples.  There  existed  in  the 
Roman  Empire  nothing  which  resembled  our  establishment  of 
post-offices  for  private  letters ;  all  correspondence  took  place  as 
opportunity  offered  itself,  or  by  messenger.5  Therefore  St.  Paul 
adopted  the  habit  of  taking  with  him  everywhere  persons  of 
a  second  order,  who  served  him  as  couriers.  •>  There  already 
existed  correspondence  among  synagogues  in  Judaism.  The 


154  SAINT  PAUL. 

messenger  appointed  to  carry  the  letters  was  even  a  suborned 
dignitary  from  the  synagogues.  Epistolary  style  formed,  among 
the  Jews,6  a  species  of  literature  which  they  preserved  quite 
up  to  the  middle  ages,7  as  a  consequence  of  their  dispersion. 
Without  doubt  Christian  epistles  were  in  existence  from  the 
epoch  in  which  Christianity  spread  itself  throughout  all  Syria ; 
but  in  the  hands  of  Paul,  these  writings,  which  up  to  that  time 
had  not  been  generally  preserved,  were,  as  much  as  the  word, 
the  instrument  of  the  progress  of  the  Christian  faith.  It  was 
held  that  the  authority  of  the  epistles  equalled  that  of  the  apos- 
tle himself;8  each  of  them  was  to  be  read  before  the  assembled 
church  ;9  some  of  them  even  had  the  character  of  circular  letters, 
and  were  communicated  successively  to  several  churches.10  The 
reading  of  the  correspondence  thus  became  an  essential  part  of 
the  Sunday  service,  and  it  was  not  only  at  the  moment  of  its 
receipt  that  the  letter  thus  served  for  the  edification  of  the 
brethren,  Filed  in  the  archives  of  the  church,  it  was  taken  out 
on  the  days  of  reunion,  to  be  read  as  a  sacred  document,  and  a 
perpetual  precept.11  The  epistle  was  thus  the  form  of  primitive 
Christian  literature,  —  an  admirable  form,  perfectly  appropriate 
to  the  condition  of  the  period,  and  to  the  natural  aptitudes  of 
Paul. 

In  fact,  the  condition  of  the  new  sect  in  no  wise  permitted 
connected  books.12  Young  Christianity  was  entirely  freed  from 
texts.  The  hymns  themselves  proceeded  from  every  one,  and  were 
not  written.  They  believed  themselves  to  be  on  the  eve  of  the 
final  catastrophe.  The  sacred  books,  those  which  they  called 
the  Scriptures,  were  the  books  of  the  ancient  law.  Jesus  had 
n.ot  added  any  new  book  to  them.  He  was  to  come,  in  order  to 
fulfil  the  ancient  Scriptures  and  to  begin  an  age  in  which  he 
himself  would  be  the  living  book.  Letters  of  consolation  and 
encouragement  were  all  that  could  be  produced  in  such  a  con- 
dition of  mind.  If  already  toward  the  period  to  which  we  have 
arrived  there  were  a  number  of  little  books,  destined  to  freshen 
the  memory  concerning  the  "  sayings  and  doings  of  Jesus,"  these 


SAINT  PAUL.  155 

little  books  had  an  entirely  private  character.  They  were  not 
authentic,  official  writings,  universally  received  in  the  commu- 
nity. They  were  notes  on  which  those  persons  acquainted 
with  the  subject  laid  little  value,  and  which  they  considered 
entirely  inferior  to  tradition  in  matter  of  authority.13 

Paul,  on  his  side,  had  a  mind  in  no  wise  inclined  to  com- 
posing books.  He  had  not  the  patience  in  order  to  write. 
He  was  incapable  of  system ;  labor  with  the  pen  was  disagreeable 
to  him,  and  he  liked  to  put  it  off  upon  others.14  Correspondence, 
on  the  contrary,  so  disagreeable  to  writers  accustomed  to  set  forth 
their  ideas  artistically,  was  well  adapted  to  his  feverish  activity, 
to  his  need  of  expressing  his  impressions  on  the  spot.  At  times 
animated,  harsh,  polished,  malicious,  sarcastic ;  then  suddenly 
tender,  delicate,  almost  roguish  and  cajoling,  with  the  expres- 
sion happy  and  fine  to  the  highest  degree ;  skillful  in  varying  his 
style  with  reticences,  reservations,  infinite  precautions,  malicious 
allusions,  dissembled  ironies,  he  was  destined  to  excel  in  a  style 
which,  above  all,  exacts  impulse.  The  epistolary  style  of  Paul 
is  the  most  personal  that  ever  existed.  His  language  is,  if  I 
dare  express  myself  so,  hackled,  not  a  connected  phrase.  It  is 
impossible  to  more  boldly  violate,  I  do  not  say  the  genius  of 
the  Greek  language,  but  the  logic  of  the  human  language.  One 
would  say  it  is  a  rapid  conversation,  stenographically  reported, 
and  reproduced  without  correction.  Timothy  soon  fitted  him- 
self to  perform  the  duties  of  a  secretary  to  his  master,  and  as 
his  language  must  have  resembled  Paul's  somewhat,  he  fre- 
quently took  his  place. 

It  is  probable  that  in  the  epistles  and  perhaps  in  the  Acts, 
there  are  pages  by  Timothy.  Such  was  the  modesty  of  thij 
rare  man  that  we  have  no  certain  sign  whereby  to  detect  them. 

Even  when  Paul  corresponded  directly,  he  did  not  write  with 
his  own  hand :  he  dictated.15  Sometimes  when  the  letter  was 
finished  he  re-read  it.  Then  his  impetuous  soul  got  the  better  of 
him.  He  made  marginal  additions  to  it,  at  the  risk  of  injuring 
the  context,  and  producing  detached  or  entangled  phrases.16  He 


156  SAINT  PAUL. 

sent  the  letter  thus  altered,  without  giving  a  thought  to  the 
innumerable  repetitions  of  words  and  ideas  which  it  contained. 
With  his  wonderful  warmth  of  soul,  Paul  has  a  singular  poverty 
of  expression.  A  word  besets  him  : "  he  introduces  it  into  a 
page  at  every  turn.  It  is  not  barrenness,  it  is  the  vehemence 
of  mind,  and  a  perfect  indifference  as  to  the  correctness  of  style. 
In  order  to  avoid  the  numerous  fabrications  to  which  the  pas- 
sions of  the  times,  the  authority  of  the  apostle,  and  the  material 
conditions  of  ancient  epistolography18  gave  occasion,  Paul  was 
accustomed  to  send  to  the  churches  a  specimen  of  his  hand- 
writing, which  was  easily  to  be  recognized ; 19  after  which  it  was 
sufficient  for  him,  according  to  general  usage,  to  put  at  the  end 
of  his  letters  a  few  words  in  his  handwriting,  as  guarantee  of 
authenticity.20 

No  doubt  Paul's  correspondence  was  considerable,  and  that 
what  we  possess  of  it  is  but  a  small  portion.21  The  religion  of 
the  primitive  churches  was  so  distinct  from  all  matter,  so  purely 
idealistic,  that  they  never  thought  of  the  immense  price  of  these 
writings.  The  faith  was  everything ;  each  one  carried  it  in  his 
heart,  and  cared  little  for  the  loose  sheets  of  papyrus,22  which, 
besides,  were  not  autographic. 

These  epistles  were  for  the  most  part  writings  for  the  occa- 
sion. No  one  ever  imagined  that  they  would  one  day  become 
sacred  books.  It  is  not  till  toward  the  end  of  the  apostle's  life 
that  there  is  question  of  holding  to  his  letters  for  their  own  value, 
being  contented  with  them,  and  preserving  them.  Each  church 
then  keeps  her  own  carefully,  consults  them  often,23  reads  them 
regularly,24  and  allows  them  to  be  copied ; 25  but  a  large  number 
Cjf  letters  of  the  first  period  were  irretrievably  lost.  As  to  the 
letters  or  replies  of  the  churches,26  all  of  them  have  disappeared, 
and  it  could  not  be  otherwise.  Paul,  in  his  wandering  life, 
never  had  other  archives  than  his  memory  and  his  heart. 

Only  two  letters  of  the  second  mission  have  reached  us  :  they 
are  the  two  epistles  to  the  church  of  Thessalonica.27  Paul  wrote 
them  from  Corinth,28  and  associated  the  names  of  Silas  and 


SAINT  PAUL.  157 

Timothy  with  his  in  the  superscription.  They  must  have  been 
composed  at  a  short  interval  from  each  other. 2a  They  are  two 
writings,  full  of  unction,  tenderness,  emotion,  and  charm.  The 
apostle  does  not  hide  his  preference  for  the  churches  of  Mace- 
donia. To  express  this  love,  he  makes  use  of  the  most  vivid 
expressions,  the  most  tender  images.  He  represents  himself 
as  the  nurse  warming  her  nurslings  in  her  bosom ; w  as  a  father 
watching  over  his  children.31  This  is  what  Paul  was,  in  reality, 
for  the  churches  which  he  had  founded.  Paul  was  an  admira- 
ble missionary,  but  he  was,  above  all,  an  admirable  director  of 
consciences.  Never  did  a  man  understand  himself  better  as  a 
keeper  of  souls.  Never  was  the  problem  of  the  education  of 
man  grasped  in  a  livelier  and  more  intimate  manner.  Do  not 
think  that  this  ascendant  was  won  by  flattery,  by  gentleness.33 
No;  Paul  was  churlish,  ugly,  at  times  passionate.  He  in  no 
wise  resembled  Jesus.  He  had  not  his  charming  indulgence, 
his  way  of  overlooking  everything ;  his  divine  incapacity  of  see- 
ing evil.  Frequently  he  was  imperious,  and  caused  his  authority 
to  be  felt  with  an  ascendancy  that  shocks  us.33  He  commands ; 
he  blames  severely;  he  speaks  of  himself  with  assurance,34  and 
proposes  himself  as  a  model  without  any  hesitation.35  But  what 
loftiness !  What  purity !  What  disinterestedness  !  With  re- 
spect to  the  last,  he  goes  to  extremes.  Ten  times  he  returns 
with  pride  to  the  detail,  apparently  childish,  that  he  has  cost 
nothing  to  any  one ;  that  he  has  not  eaten  any  one's  bread 
gratis ;  that  he  works  night  and  day  like  an  artisan,  although  he 
might  have  done  like  the  other  apostles,  and  lived  from  the  altar. 
The  motive  of  his  zeal  was  a  love  for  souls,  in  some  respects 
without  limit  or  bound. 

The  happiness,  the  innocence,  the  fraternal  spirit,  the  bound- 
less charity  of  these  primitive  churches  afford  a  spectacle  never 
to  recur  again.36  All  this  was  spontaneous,  without  restraint ; 
and  yet  these  little  associations  were  as  solid  as  iron.  Not  only 
did  they  resist  the  perpetual  bickering  of  the  Jews,37  but  their 
interior  organizations  were  of  a  surprising  strength.  In  order 


I58  SAINT  PAUL. 

to  form  an  idea  of  them,  we  must  call  to  mind,  not  our  large 
churches,  open  to  all ;  but  religious  orders,  with  a  very  strict  life 
of  their  own ;  very  restricted  brotherhoods,  in  which  members 
come  into  contact,  arouse  each  other,  dispute  together,  love  each 
other,  and  hate  each  other  at  every  moment.  These  churches 
had  a  certain  hierarchy; 38  the  oldest,  the  most  active  members, 
those  who  had  been  in  connection  with  the  apostle,  enjoyed 
precedence ; 39  but  the  apostle  himself  was  the  first  to  reject 
everything  which  would  have  resembled  a  mastership.  He  only 
wished  to  be  "promoter  of  the  common  joy." 40 

The  "elders"41  were  sometimes  elected  by  voice,  that  is  to  say, 
by  raising  the  hand ; 42  sometimes  established  by  the  apostle,43 
but  always  considered  as  chosen  by  the  Holy  Spirit ; 44  that  is  to 
say,  by  that  superior  instinct  which  directed  the  church  in  all  its 
acts.  They  already  began  to  call  them  "  overseers  "  (episcopi),45 
a  word  which  from  the  political  language  had  passed  into  the 
societies,46  and  to  consider  them  as  "pastors"  commissioned  to 
conduct  the  church.47  Certain  ones,  moreover,  were  regarded  as 
having  a  sort  of  specialty  for  imparting  instruction.  These  were 
the  catechists,  going  from  house  to  house,  and  spreading  the  word 
of  God  in  private  lessons.  Paul  established  the  rule  that,  at 
least  in  certain  cases,43  the  catechumen  should  during  instruction 
share  all  he  possessed  in  common  with  his  catechist. 
•**"  The  full  authority  belonged  to  the  assembled  church.  This 
authority  extended  to  what  was  most  intimate  in  private  life.1 
All  the  brethren  watched  over  each  other,  reproved  each  other. 
The  assembled  church,  or  at  least  those  whom  they  called  "  the 
spiritual,"  reprimanded  those  who  were  in  fault,  consoled  the 
discouraged,  performed  the  duty  of  directors  skilful"  and  well- 
versed  in  the  knowledge  of  the  heart.49  Public  penitences  had 
not  yet  been  instituted,  but  doubtless  were  already  in  existence 
in  the  germ.50  As  no  exterior  force  was  exerted  upon  the  faithful 
to  prevent  them  from  dividing  or  abandoning  the  church,  one 
might  think  that  such  an  organization  which  would  appear  in- 
tolerable to  us,  in  which  we  would  only  see  an  organized  system 


SAINT  PAUL.  159 

of  espionage  and  information,  would  have  quickly  worked  its 
own  destruction.  Nothing  of  the  sort.  We  do  not  see  at 
the  period  now  under  consideration  a  single  instance  of  apos- 
tasy.51 All  submitted  humbly  to  the  sentence  of  the  church. 
He  whose  conduct  was  irregular,  or  who  deviated  from  th»; 
tradition  of  the  apostle,  who  did  not  obey  his  letters,  was 
branded.  They  shunned  him ;  they  had  no  connection  with 
him.  They  did  not  treat  him  as  an  enemy,  but  they  warned  him 
as  a  brother.62  This  isolation  covered  him  with  shame,  and  he 
returned.53  The  gayety  in  these  little  unions  of  good  people, 
living  together,  always  sprightly,  occupied,  affectionate,  loving 
much  and  hating  much,  —  the  gayety,  I  repeat,  was  very  great.64 
Truly  the  word  of  Jesus  was  fulfilled,  the  reign  of  the  mild  and 
simple-hearted  had  come,  and  manifested  itself  by  an  overflow- 
ing beatitude  which  inundated  every  heart. 

They  looked  with  horror  upon  heathenism,55  but  were  very 
tolerant  in  their  forms  for  the  heathen.56  Far  from  shunning  them, 
they  strove  to  attract  and  gain  them  over.57  Many  of  the  faith- 
ful had  been  idolaters,  or  had  idolatrous  parents.  They  knew  with 
what  good  faith  they  could  remain  in  error.  They  remembered 
their  virtuous  ancestors,  who  had  died  without  knowing  the  truth 
which  saveth.  A  touching  practice  —  baptism  of  the  dead  — 
was  the  consequence  of  this  sentiment.  They  thought  that  by 
having  themselves  baptized  for  those  gone  before  them  without 
having  received  the  holy  water,  they  would  confer  upon  them 
the  merits  of  the  sacrament.58  They  thus  allowed  themselves  to 
hope  that  they  would  not  be  separated  from  those  whom  they 
had  loved.  A  profound  idea  of  intimate  union  took  possession 
of  everybody.  The  son  was  saved  by  his  parents,  the  father  by 
the  son,  the  husband  by  his  wife.69  They  could  not  resign  them- 
selves to  condemn  a  man  of  good  intentions,  or  one  who  in  some, 
way  or  other  held  to  the  saints. 

Their  morality  was  severe,60  but  not  melancholy.  That  tire- 
some virtue  which  the  rigorists  of  modern  times  (the  Jansenists, 
Methodists,  etc.)  preach  for  Christian  virtue  was  in  no  respect 


160  SAINT  PAUL. 

that  of  this  period.  The  relations  between  men  and  women,  far 
from  being  forbidden,  were  increased.61  One  of  the  railleries  of 
the  heathen  was  to  represent  the  Christians  as  effeminate,  desert- 
ing ordinary  society  for  the  conventicles  of  young  girls,  old 
women,  and  children.62  Heathen  nudities  were  severely  con- 
demned. Women  in  general  were  closely  veiled.  None  of  the 
cares  of  a  timid  chastity  were  omitted.63  But  chastity  is  also  a 
voluptuousness ;  and  the  dream  of  the  ideal  which  is  in  man,  is 
susceptible  of  a  thousand  applications.  When  we  read  the  acts 
of  St.  Perpetua,  the  legend  of  St.  Dorothea,  we  find  there  heroines 
of  an  absolute  purity ;  but  how  little  they  resemble  a  nun  of  Port 
Royal !  Here  one-half  of  the  instincts  of  humanity  are  suppressed ; 
there  these  instincts,  which  later  were  to  be  regarded  as  Satanic 
suggestions,  merely  received  a  new  direction.  It  may  be  said 
that  primitive  Christianity  was  a  sort  of  moral  romanticism,  an 
energetic  revulsion  of  the  faculty  of  love.  Christianity  did  not 
diminish  this  faculty ;  it  did  not  take  any  precaution  against  it ;  it 
nourished  it  with  air  and  light.  The  danger  of  this  boldness  did 
not  reveal  itself  yet.  Evil  was  in  the  church  in  some  way  impos- 
sible ;  for  the  root  of  evil,  which  is  wicked  desire,  had  been  taken 
out. 

The  duties  of  catechist  were  often  fulfilled  by  women.64 
Virginity  was  regarded  as  a  state  of  sanctity.65  This  preference 
given  to  celibacy  was  not  a  denial  of  love  and  beauty,  as  it  was 
in  the  harsh  and  ignorant  asceticism  of  late  centuries.  It  was  in 
women  that  just  and  true  feeling,  that  virtue  and  beauty  are 
worth  more  the  more  they  are  hidden ;  so  much  so,  that  she  who 
has  not  found  this  rare  pearl  of  great  love  keeps,  through  a  sort 
of  pride  and  reserve,  her  beauty  and  her  moral  perfection  for 
God  alone,  —  for  God,  regarded  as  jealous,  as  the  copartner  of 
intimate  secrets.  Second  marriages,  without  being  forbidden, 
were  regarded  as  a  wrong.66  The  popular  sentiment  of  the  cen- 
tury was  in  accordance  with  this.  The  beautiful  and  touching 
expression  of  Gv^ftio^  became  the  ordinary  word  for  "  spouse."07 
The  words  Virginins,  Virginia,  llapSsviKOS,  indicating  spouses 


SAINT  PAUL.  161 

who  had  had  no  other  alliance,68  became  terms  of  praise  and 
tenderness.  The  family  feeling,  the  union  of  husband  and  wife, 
their  reciprocal  esteem,  the  gratitude  of  the  husband  for  the  cares 
and  foresight  of  his  wife,  are  embodied  in  a  touching  manner  in 
Jewish  inscriptions,69  which  in  this  respect  did  nothing  more  than 
reflect  the  sentiment  of  the  humble  classes  in  which  Christian 
propaganda  was  recruiting  its  adepts.  Singular  circumstance ! 
The  most  elevated  ideas  concerning  the  sanctity  of  marriage 
were  spread  through  the  world  by  a  people  among  whom  poly- 
gamy has  never  been  universally  forbidden.70  But  it  must  have 
been  that  in  the  fraction  of  Jewish  society  in  which  Christianity 
established  itself,  polygamy  was  abolished  in  reality,  since  we 
never  see  the  church  imagining  that  such  an  enormity  needed 
to  be  condemned. 

Charity,  brotherly  love,  was  the  supreme  law  common  to  all 
the  churches,  and  to  all  the  schools.71  Charity  and  chastity  were 
pre-eminently  Christian  virtues,  —  those  which  gave  success  to  the 
new  preaching,  and  converted  the  whole  world.  The  command 
was  to  do  good  to  all;  nevertheless,  the  co-religionists  were 
acknowledged  worthy  of  preference.72  The  taste  for  labor  was 
esteemed  a  virtue.  Paul,  like  a  good  workman,  energetically 
blamed  idleness  and  sloth,  and  frequently  repeated  that  naive 
proverb  of  a  man  of  the  people,  that,  "  he  who  would  not  work 
should  not  eat."73  The  model  which  he  conceived  was  a 
punctual,  quiet  artisan,  diligent  at  work,  eating  peacefully,  and 
with  his  heart  in  repose,  the  bread  which  he  earned.74  How  far 
we  are  from  the  primitive  ideal  of  the  church  of  Jerusalem  en- 
tirely communistic  and  cenobitic,  or  even  from  that  of  Antioch, 
entirely  occupied  with  the  prophecies  and  supernatural  gifts  of 
the  apostolate ! 

Then  the  church  was  an  association  of  honest  workmen,  gay, 
satisfied,  not  envying  the  rich  because  they  are  the  happier,  be- 
cause they  know  that  God  does  not  judge  like  the  worldly,  and 
that  he  prefers  the  hard  and  honest  hand  to  the  soft  hand  of 
the  intriguer.  One  of  the  principal  virtues  is  to  conduct  your 
H* 


1 62  SAINT  PAUL. 

own  affairs  well,  "that  ye  may  walk  honestly  toward  them  that 
are  without,  and  that  ye  may  lack  of  nothing."  75  Several  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  of  whom  St.  Paul  had  heard  "  that  they  do 
not  work  at  all,  but  are  busybodies,"  are  severely  blamed.76  This 
alliance  between  practical  good  sense  and  illuminism  should 
never  surprise  any  one.  Does  not  the  English  race  in  Europe 
and  America  offer  us  the  same  contrast,  so  full  of  good  sense  in 
things  of  the  world,  but  so  absurd  in  spiritual  affairs  ?  Quakerism 
in  the  same  way  commenced  -by  being  a  tissue  of  absurdities, 
until  that  period  in  which,  through  the  influences  of  William 
Penn,  it  became  something  practically  great  and  fruitful. 

The  supernatural  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  such  as  prophecy, 
were  not  neglected.77  But  we  see  well,  that  in  the  churches  of 
Greece,  composed  of  non-Jews,  these  fantastic  exercises  had  no 
longer  much  sense,  and  we  can  imagine  that  they  were  soon  to 
fall  into  disuse.  The  Christian  discipline  inclined  toward  a 
deistic  piety,  consisting  in  serving  the  true  God,  praying,  and 
doing  good.73  Unbounded  hope  gave  to  these  precepts  of  pure 
religion  the  efficacy  which  they  never  would  have  possessed 
through  themselves.  /The  dream  which  had  been  the  soul  of  the 
'movement  of  ideas  brought  about  by  Jesus  continued  to  be 
the  fundamental  dogma  of  Christianity :  everybody  believed  in 
the  speedy  coming  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  in  the  unexpected 
manifestation  of  a  great  glory,  in  the  midst  of  which  the  Son 
of  God  would  appear.  The  idea  they  had  of  this  wonderful 
phenomenon  was  the  same  as  that  in  the  time  of  Jesus.  "  A 
great  wrath,"  that  is  to  say,  a  terrible  catastrophe,  is  near  at 
hand.  This  catastrophe  will  strike  all  those  whom  Jesus  shall  not 
have  delivered.  Jesus  will  show  himself  in  the  heavens,  as  "  the 
Lord  of  glory,"79  surrounded  by  angels.80  Then  the  judgment  will 
take  place.  The  saints,  the  persecuted,  will  be  gathered  round 
Jesus,  to  enjoy  with  him  an  eternal  repose.  The  unbelievers 
who  have  persecuted  them,  especially  the  Jews,  will  be  burned. 
Their  punishment  will  be  eternal  death;  driven  from  before 
Jesus,  they  will  be  dragged  down  into  the  abyss  of  destruction. 


SAINT  PAUL.  163 

A  consuming  fire,  in  fact,  will  be  lighted,  and  will  destroy  the 
world  and  all  those  who  shall  have  rejected  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus.  This  final  catastrophe  will  be  a  sort  of  great  and  glori- 
ous manifestation  of  Jesus  and  of  his  saints,  an  act  of  supreme 
justice,  a  tardy  reparation  for  the  iniquities  which  have  consti- 
tuted until  new  the  law  of  the  age.81  -~_^ 

Objections  were  naturally  raised  against  this  strange  doctrine. 
One  of  the  principal  ones  arose  from  the  difficulty  of  conceiv- 
ing the  fate  of  the  dead,  in  the  moment  of  the  coming  of  Jesus. 
Since  the  writing  from  Paul,  there  had  been  several  deaths  in  the 
church  of  Thessalonica.  These  first  deaths  caused  a  profound 
impression.  Should  they  pity  and  regard  as  excluded  from  the 
kingdom  of  God  those  who  had  thus  disappeared  before  the 
solemn  hour?  The  ideas  concerning  individual  immortality 
and  particular  judgments,  were  still  too  little  developed  in  order 
that  such  an  objection  could  be  raised.82  Paul  replied  to  it  with 
remarkable  precision.  Death  will  only  be  the  sleep  of  a 
moment.- 

"But  I  would  not  have  you  to  be  ignorant,  brethren,  conr 
cerning  them  which  are  asleep ;  that  ye  sorrow  not,  even  as 
others  which  have  no  hope.  For  if  ye  believe  that  Jesus  died 
and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God 
bring  with  him.  For  this  we  say  unto  you  by  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  that  we  which  are  alive  and  remain  unto  the  coming  of 
the  Lord  shall  not  prevent  them  which  are  asleep.  For  the 
Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a  shout ;  with  the 
voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of  God ;  and  the 
dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first.  Then  we  which  are  alive  and 
remain  shall  be  caught  up  together  with  them  in  the  clouds,  to 
meet  the  Lord  in  the  air,  and  so  shall  we  ever  be  with  the  Lord. 
Wherefore,  comfort  one  another  with  these  words."83 

They  strove  to  calculate  the  day  of  this  great  appearance. 
St.  Paul  blames  these  inquisitive  inquiries,  and  in  order  to  show 
their  emptiness,  makes  use  of  almost  the  same  words  attributed 
to  Jesus.84 


164  SAINT  PAUL. 

11  But  of  the  times  and  the  seasons,  brethren,  ye  have  no  need 
that  I  write  unto  you.  For  yourselves,  know  perfectly  that  the 
day  of  the  Lord  so  cometh  as  a  thief  in  the  night.  For  when  they 
shall  say,  peace  and  plenty,  then  sudden  destruction  cometh 
upon  them,  as  travail  upon  a  woman  with  child ;  and  they  shall 
not  escape.  But  ye,  brethren,  are  not  in  darkness,  that  that 
day  shall  overcome  you  as  a  thief.85  Ye  are  all  the  children  of 
light,  and  the  children  of  the  day ;  we  are  not  of  the  night,  nor 
of  darkness.  Therefore,  let  us  not  sleep  as  do  others ;  but  let 
us  watch  and  be  sober."  M 

The  anticipation  of  this  coming  catastrophe  was  very  great. 
Enthusiasts  believed  to  know  the  date  of  it  by  particular  reve- 
lations. There  were  already  Apocalypses.  They  even  went  so 
far  as  to  circulate  false  letters  from  the  apostle,  in  which  this 
end  was  announced. 

"  Now  we  beseech  you,  brethren,  by  the  coming  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  by  our  gathering  together  under  him,  that  ye 
be  not  soon  shaken  in  mind,  or  be  troubled,  neither  by  spirit, 
nor  by  word,  nor  by  letter,  as  from  us,  as  that  the  day  of  Christ 
is  at  hand.  Let  no  man  deceive  you  by  any  means ;  for  that 
day  shall  not  come  except  there  come  a  falling  away  first,  and 
that  man  of  sin  be  revealed,  the  son  of  perdition ;  who  opposeth 
and  exalteth  himself  above  all  that  is  called  God,  or  that  is  wor- 
shipped, so  that  he  as  God  sitteth  in  the  temple  of  God,  showing 
that  he  is  God.87  Remember  ye  not,  that,  when  I  was  yet  with 
you,  I  told  you  these  things  ?  And  now  ye  know  what  he  with- 
holdeth,  that  he  might  be  revealed  in  his  time.  For  the  mystery 
of  iniquity  doth  already  work ;  only  he  who  letteth  will  let,  until 
he  be  taken  out  of  the  way.  And  then  shall  that  wicked  be 
revealed,  whom  the  Lord  shall  consume  with  the  spirit  of  his 
mouth,  and  shall  destroy  with  the  brightness  of  his  coming. 
Even  him  whose  coming  is  after  the  working  of  Satan,  with  all 
power,  and  signs  and  lying  wonders,  and  with  all  deceivableness 
of  unrighteousness  in  them  that  perish ;  because  they  received 
not  the  love  of  the  truth  that  they  might  be  saved.  And  for  this 


SAINT  PAUL.  165 

cause  God  shall  send  them  strong  delusion,  that  they  should 
believe  a  lie ;  that  they  all  might  be  damned  who  believed  not 
the  truth,  but  had  pleasure  in  unrighteousness."  w 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  these  texts,  written  twenty  years  after 
the  death  of  Christ,  a  single  essential  element  has  been  added  to 
the  picture  of  the  day  of  the  Lord,  such  as  Jesus  conceived  it;89 
namely,  the  r6le  of  an  anti-Christ™  or  "false-Christ,"  who  was 
to  rise  before  the  great  coming  of  Jesus  himself, —  a  sort  of 
messiah  from  Satan,  who  will  perform  miracles,  and  will  seek  to 
have  himself  worshipped.  While  speaking  of  Simon  the  magi- 
cian, we  have  already  met  with  the  singular  idea,  that  the  false 
prophets  performed  miracles  like  the  true  ones.91  The  opinion 
that  the  judgment  of  God  would  be  preceded  by  terrible  catas- 
trophes, by  a  flood  of  impiety  and  abominations,  by  the 
temporary  triumph  of  idolatry,  by  the  coming  of  a  sacrilegious 
king,  was  moreover  very  ancient,  and  dated  from  the  first  origin 
of  the  Apocalyptic  doctrines.93  Little  by  little  this  ephemeral 
reign  of  evil,  announcing  the  final  victory  of  the  good,  assumed 
among  the  Christians  the  type  of  a  man  whom  they  conceived 
to  be  the  exact  inverse  of  Jesus, — a  sort  of  Christ  of  hell. 

The  type  of  this  future  seducer  was  composed  in  part  of 
recollections  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  such  as  the  book  of 
Daniel93  represented  him,  combined  with  reminiscences  of 
Balaam,  of  Gog  and  Magog,  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  in  part  of 
features  derived  from  the  circumstances  of  the  period.  The 
frightful  tragedy  Rome  was  playing  at  this  moment  before  the 
world  could  not  fail  to  exalt  many  imaginations.  Caligula,  the 
anti-god,  the  first  emperor  who  wished  to  be  worshipped  while 
alive,  probably  inspired  Paul  with  the  idea  that  the  said  per- 
sonage would  raise  himself  above  all  the  pretended  gods,  all  the 
idols,  and  would  sit  down  in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  striving 
to  pass  himself  off  for  God  himself.94  Thus  the  anti-Christ  is 
conceived,  in  the  year  54,  as  a  continuator  of  the  sacrilegious 
madness  of  Caligula.  The  reality  will  only  afford  too  many 
opportunities  to  explain  such  forebodings.  A  few  months  after 


1 66  SAINT  PAUL. 

Paul  had  written  that  strange  page,  Nero  succeeded  to  the 
empire.  It  is  in  him  that  the  Christian  conscience,  at  a  later 
period,  will  see  the  monster  precursory  to  the  coming  of  Christ. 
What  this  cause  is,  or  rather,  who  this  personage  is,  that  in  the 
year  54,  according  to  St.  Paul,  still  prevented  the  time  of  the 
anti-Christ  from  arriving,  is  a  question  which  remains  wrapped 
up  in  obscurity.  There  is  question  here  probably  of  a  mysterious 
secret,  not  foreign  to  politics,  of  which  the  faithful  spoke  among 
themselves,  but  of  which  they  never  wrote  for  fear  of  compro- 
mising themselves.95  One  letter  seized  would  have  sufficed  to 
bring  about  atrocious  persecutions.  Here,  as  upon  other  points, 
the  custom  of  the  primitive  Christians  not  to  write  certain  things, 
creates  for  us  irremediable  obscurities.  It  has  been  supposed 
that  the  person  in  question  is  the  Emperor  Claudius,  and  they 
have  detected  in  an  expression  of  Paul  a  play  upon  words  on 
his  name  (Claudius — quidaudit —  6  x^f^X00^}'  In  fact>  at  the 
date  in  which  this  letter  was  written,  the  death  of  poor  Claudius, 
entangled  in  fatal  meshes  by  the  wretch  Agrippina,  must  have 
appeared  to  be  only  a  question  of  time.  Every  one  was  ex- 
pecting it:  the  emperor  himself  was  speaking  of  it.  Sombre 
presentiments  arose  on  all  sides;  prodigies  of  nature,  such  as 
those  which  fourteen  years  later  so  strongly  impressed  the 
author  of  the  Apocalypse,  were  besetting  the  popular  imagina- 
tion. They  spoke  with  dread  of  monstrous  foetuses,  —  of  a  sow, 
which  bore  a  young  one  with  hawk's  claws.96  All  this  made 
them  tremble  for  the  future.  The  Christians,  like  people  of  the 
lower  classes,  participated  in  these  terrors.  The  omens,  and  the 
superstitious  fear  of  natural  plagues,  prompted  the  essential 
motives  of  the  Apocalyptic  beliefs.97 

What  is  clear,  what  again  shines  forth  for  us  in  these  invaluable 
documents,  what  explains  to  us  the  unheard  of  success  of 
Christian  propaganda,  is  the  spirit  of  devotion,  of  high  morality, 
which  reigned  in  these  churches.  One  can  imagine  them  to 
himself  as  reunions  of  Moravian  brethren,  or  of  pietistic  protes- 
tants,  practising  the  most  fervent  devotion ;  or  else  as  a  sort  of 


SAINT  PAUL.  167 

third  order  of  the  Catholic  congregation.  Prayer,  and  the  name 
of  Jesus,  were  always  on  the  lips  of  the  faithful98  before  every 
action ;  before  a  meal,  for  instance,  they  pronounced  a  benedic- 
tion, or  a  short  return  of  grace."  It  was  regarded  as  an  injury 
done  to  the  church  to  bring  a  suit  before  a  civil  judge.100  The 
belief  in  a  speedy  destruction  of  the  world  robbed  the  revolu- 
tionary ferment,  at  work  in  every  mind,  of  a  great  portion  of  its 
sharpness.  The  constant  rule  of  the  apostle  was,  that  one  should 
remain  in  the  calling  to  which  he  had  been  called :  if  circumcised, 
not  to  dissimulate  the  circumcision ;  if  uncircumcised,  not  to 
have  circumcision  performed ;  if  a  virgin,  to  remain  a  virgin ;  if 
married,  to  remain  married;  if  a  slave,  not  to  think  anything 
about  it,  and  even  if  possible  to  gain  one's  liberty,  to  remain  a 
slave.101  "For  he  that  is  called  in  the  Lord,  being  a  servant,  is 
the  Lord's  freeman;  likewise  also  he  that  is  called,  being  free, 
is  Christ's  servant."10 !  A  boundless  resignation  took  possession 
of  souls,  rendered  everything  indifferent,  and  consigned  all  the 
sorrows  of  this  world  to  burial  and  forgetfulness. 

The  church  was  a  permanent  source  of  edification  and  conso- 
lation. We  must  not  judge  of  the  Christian  reunions  of  this  period 
by  the  ceremonious  assemblies  of  our  day,  in  which  nothing  unex- 
pected or  aught  of  individual  action  constitutes  any  part.103  We 
should  rather  call  to  mind  the  conventicles  of  English  Quakers, 
American  Shakers,  and  French  spirites.  During  the  reunion,  all 
were  seated ;  each  one  spoke  when  the  spirit  moved  him.  Then  » 
the  inspired  one  arose,104  and  pronounced,  upon  the  impulse  of 
the  spirit,  discourses  of  divers  forms,  which  it  is  now  difficult  for 
us  to  distinguish,  —  psalms,  canticles,  returns  of  grace,  eulogies, 
prophecies,  revelations,  lessons,  exhortations,  consolations,  exer- 
cises in  glossology.105  These  improvisations,  considered  as 
Divine  oracles,106  were  sometimes  sung,  and  sometimes  pro- 
nounced in  a  plain  manner.107  They  called  upon  each  other  for 
this  purpose  reciprocally.  Each  one  excited  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  others.  It  was  what  they  called  "singing  to  the  Lord."108 
The  women  kept  silent.109  As  they  all  believed  themselves 


1 68  SAINT  PAUL. 

unceasingly  visited  by  the  spirit,  every  image,  every  sound 
which  entered  the  brain  of  the  believers  appeared  to  contain  a 
profound  meaning;  and,  with  the  best  faith  in  the  world,  their 
souls  received  pure  nourishment  from  pure  illusions.  After 
each  eulogy,  each  prayer  thus  improvised,  the  congregation 
united  with  the  inspired  one  by  the  word  "Amen."  no  To  mark 
the  divers  acts  of  the  mysterious  sitting,  the  chief  interposed 
either  by  the  invitation,  Or  emus ;  or,  with  a  sigh  towards 
heaven,  Sursum  cor  da;  or,  in  recollecting  that  Jesus,  according 
to  his  promise,  is  in  the  midst  of  the  assembly,  Dominus 
•vobiscum.™-  The  cry  of  Kyrie  eleison  was  also  frequently 
repeated,  with  a  supplicant  and  plaintive  rhythm.112 

Prophecy  was  a  gift  highly  prized.113  Sometimes  women  were 
endowed  with  it.114  In  many  cases,  especially  when  there  was 
a  question  of  glossology,  they  hesitated ;  they  were  sometimes 
even  fearful  of  being  the  dupes  of  a  deception  of  evil  spirits. 
One  particular  class  of  the  inspired,  or  as  they  called  them 
"spiritual"™  were  commissioned  to  interpret  these  strange, 
eructations,  and  to  discover  their  meaning,  and  to  discern  the 
spirits  from  whence  they  proceeded.116  These  phenomena  were 
very  efficacious  in  converting  the  heathen,  and  were  considered 
as  the  most  demonstrative  miracles.117  In  fact,  the  heathen,  or  at 
least  those  whom  they  supposed  to  be  friendly,  entered  the  as- 
semblies.118 Then  strange  scenes  often  took  place.  One  or  more 
of  the  inspired  ones  addressed*  themselves  to  the  intruder,  spoke 
to  him  with  alternate  harshness  and  mildness,  revealed  to  him 
the  greatest  secrets  which  he  supposed  to  be  known  to  himself 
alone,  unveiled  to  him  the  sins  of  his  past  life.  The  wretched 
one  was  bewildered,  confounded.  The  shame  from  this  public 
manifestation,  the  idea  that  he  had  been  seen  by  this  assembly 
in  a  sort  of  spiritual  nudity,  created  between  him  and  the 
brethren  a  strong  tie,  one  not  to  be  afterwards  severed.119  A 
sort  of  confession  was  sometimes  the  first  act  performed,  upon 
joining  the  sect.120  The  intimacy,  the  tenderness,  established 
between  the  brethren  and  sisters  by  such  exercises  was  unre- 


SAINT  PAUL.  169 

served ;  all  veritably  constituted  but  one  single  person.  There 
was  nothing  else  necessary  than  a  perfect  spiritualism  to  prevent 
such  relations  from  terminating  in  shocking  abuses. 

We  can  conceive  what  a  powerful  attraction  such  an  active 
life  of  affection  must  have  exercised  in  the  midst  of  a  society 
destitute  of  moral  ties ;  above  all,  among  the  popular  classes, 
equally  neglected  by  state  and  religion.  There  is  the  great 
lesson  for  our  century  to  learn  from  this  history:  the  times 
resemble  each  other ;  the  future  will  belong  to  that  party  which 
shall  take  the  popular  classes  and  elevate  them.  But  in  our  day 
the  difficulty  is  very  much  greater  than  it  ever  has  been.  In 
antiquity,  on  the  borders  of  the  JVlediterranean,  material  life 
could  be  simple;  the  wants  of  the  body  were  secondary,  and 
easily  satisfied.  With  us,  these  wants  are  numerous  and  im- 
perious. Popular  associations  are  held  to  the  earth,  as  by  a 
leaden  weight.  It  was  above  all  the  sacred  feast,  the  "Lord's 
Supper,"121  which  had  a  very  great  moral  efficacy.  They 
considered  it  as  a  mystical  act,  by  which  all  were  incorporated 
into  Christ,  and  consequently  reunited  in  the  same  body.  This 
was  a  perpetual  lesson  of  equality  and  fraternity.  The  sacra- 
mental words  which  they  attributed  to  the  Last  Supper  of  Jesus 
were  present  to  all.  They  believed  that  this  bread,  this  wine, 
and  this  water,  were  the  flesh  and  blood  of  Jesus  himself.122 
Those  who  partook  of  it  were  thought  to  eat  Jesus,  to  unite 
themselves  to  him,  and  themselves  together  by  an  ineffable 
mystery.  They  entered  upon  it  by  giving  each  other  the  "holy 
kiss,"  or  "  kiss  of  love,"  m  without  any  scruple  having  come  to 
disturb  this  innocence  of  a  second  golden  age.  Generally,  the 
men  kissed  each  other,  and  the  women  each  other.124  Some 
churches,  however,  carried  the  holy  privilege  so  far  as  to  malce 
no  distinction  of  sexes  in  the  kiss  of  lave.125  Profane  society, 
little  capable  of  understanding  such  a  purity,  made  it  an  occasion 
for  divers  calumnies.  The  chaste  Christian  kiss  aroused  th'c 
suspicions  of  libertines,  and,  at  an  early  day,  the  church  bound 
itself  upon  this  point  to  strict  precautions.  But  in  the  begia- 


1 7o  SAINT  PAUL. 

ning  this  was  an  essential  rite,  inseparable  from  the  Eucharist, 
and  completing  the  high  signification  of  this  symbol  of  peace 
and  love.126  Some  deprived  themselves  of  it  on  fast-days,  as  a 
sign  of  mourning  and  austerity.127 

The  first  Cenobitic  Church  of  Jerusalem  broke  bread  every 
day.128  From  this,  twenty  or  thirty  years  after,  they  came  to 
celebrate  the  sacred  feast  only  once  a  week.  This  celebration 
took  place  in  the  evening,129  according  to  Jewish  usage,130  by  the 
light  of  numerous  lamps.131  The  day  chosen  for  it  was  the  day 
after  the  Sabbath,  the  first  day  of  the  week.  They  called  it  the 
"Lord's  Day,"  in  remembrance  of  the  resurrection;132  and  also 
because  they  believed  that  on  that  day  God  had  created  the 
world.133  Alms  and  collections  were  made  on  that  day.134  The 
Sabbath,  which  probably  all  Christians  still  celebrated  in  an 
unequally  scrupulous  manner,  was  distinct  from  the  Lord's 
Day.135  But  without  doubt  the  day  of  repose  tended  more  and 
more  to  mingle  with  the  Lord's  Day,  and  we  are  allowed  to 
suppose,  that,  in  the  Gentile  churches  which  had  no  reason  to 
prefer  Saturday,  this  change  had  already  been  made.136  The 
ebionim  of  the  Orient,  on  the  contrary,  rested  on  Saturday.137 

Little  by  little  the  repast  tended  to  become  purely  symbolic 
in  form.  At  the  beginning,  it  was  a  real  supper,138  at  which  every 
one  ate  according  to  his  hunger,  only  with  a  high  mystical  inten- 
tion.139 The  repast  was  begun  with  a  prayer.  As  with  the 
dinners  of  heathen  brotherhoods,140  each  one  came  with  his 
sportula,  and  consumed  what  he  had  brought.141  Without  doubt 
the  church  furnished  the  accessories,  such  as  hot  water,  fish,  and 
what  they  termed  minister  ium^  They  took  pleasure  in  imagin- 
ing two  invisible  servants,  Irene  (Peace)  and  Agape  (Love),  the 
one  pouring  out  the  wine  and  the  other  mingling  the  warm  water 
with  it ;  and  perhaps  at  certain  periods  in  the  repast  would  be 
heard,  with  a  slight  smile  to  the  deaconesses  (minisfyze),10  what- 
ever their  names  may  have  been — frene,  da  calda — Agape, 
misce  mi.14*  A  spirit  of  gentle  reserve  and  discreet  sobriety  pre- 
sided at  the  feast.145  The  table  at  which  they  were  seated  had 


SAINT  PAUL.  171 

the  form  of  a  hollow  semi-circle,  or  of  a  lunar  sigma.  The  elder 
was  placed  in  the  centre.148  The  patera,  or  saucers,  used  in 
drinking,  were  the  object  of  a  particular  care.1"  The  blessed 
bread  and  wine  were  carried  to  those  absent  through  the  agency 
of  the  elders.143 

In  time,  the  repast  came  to  be  nothing  more  than  one  ii 
appearance.  They  ate  at  home  to  satisfy  hunger.  At  the 
assembly,  they  only  ate  a  few  mouthfuls  ;  they  only  drank  a  few 
swallows,  for  the  sake  of  the  symbol.143  They  were  led  by  a 
sort  of  logic  to  distinguish  the  fraternal  repast  in  common,  from 
the  mystical  act,  which  only  consisted  in  the  breaking  of  the 
bread.153  The  breaking  of  the  bread  became  every  day  more 
sacramental.  The  repast,  on  the  contrary,  in  proportion  as  the 
church  enlarged,  grew  more  profane.151  At  times  the  repast 
was  reduced  to  almost  nothing,  and  by  this  reduction  all  the  im- 
portance was  attached  to  the  sacramental  act.152  At  other 
times,  the  two  existed  as  divisions  of  each  other  :  the  repast  was 
a  prelude  or  a  sequel  to  the  Eucharist.  They  ate  together,  before 
or  after  the  communion.153  Then  the  two  ceremonies  separated 
entirely.  The  pious  repasts  were  acts  of  charity  toward  the 
poor,  sometimes  remnants  of  heathen  usages,  and  had  no  longer 
any  connection  with  the  Eucharist.154  As  such,  they  were,  in 
general,  suppressed  in  the  fourth  century.135  The  "  eulogies,"  or 
"  hallowed  bread,"  then  remained  the  sole  recollection  of  an  age 
in  which  the  Eucharist  had  been  clothed  in  more  complex  and 
less  clearly  analyzed  forms.  For  a  long  time,  however,  they 
kept  the  custom  of  calling  upon  the  name  of  Jesus  on  drinking,156 
and  they  continued  to  consider  as  an  eulogy  the  action  of  break- 
ing the  bread  and  drinking  together.157  These  were  the  last 
traces,  and  slight  ones  at  that,  of  the  admirable  institution  of 
Jesus. 

The  name  originally  borne  by  the  Eucharistic  feasts  admirably 
expressed  everything  of  divine  efficacy  and  salutary  morality 
possessed  by  this  excellent  rite.  They  were  called  agapce, 
that  is  to  say,  "friendships,"  or  "charities."158  The  Jews,  the 


172  SAINT  PAUL 

Essenes  especially,  had  already  attached  moral  significations  to 
religious  festivities ; 159  but  in  passing  into  the  hands  of  another 
race,  these  oriental  usages  assumed  an  almost  mythological 
value.  The  Mithriac  mysteries,  which  were  about  to  develop 
themselves  in  the  Roman  world,  had  for  a  principal  rite  the 
offering  of  the  bread  and  cup,  over  which  certain  words  were 
pronounced.160  The  resemblance  was  such  that  the  Christians 
explained  it  by  claiming  that  it  was  the  result  of  a  demon's 
rtise,  who  must  have  wished  thus  to  afford  himself  the  infernal 
pleasure  of  counterfeiting  their  most  sacred  ceremonies.161  The 
secret  connections  of  all  this  are  very  obscure.  It  was  easy  to 
foresee  that  grave  abuses  would  be  quickly  mingled  with  such 
practices,  that  some  day  the  repast  (the  agape,  properly  speak- 
ing) would  fall  into  disuse,  and  that  there  would  only  remain  the 
Eucharistic  mouthful,  as  sign  and  memorial  of  the  primitive 
institution.  One  is  not  suiprised  either  to  learn  that  this  strange 
mystery  was  the  pretext  for  calumnies,  and  that  the  sect  which 
pretended  to  eat  in  the  form  of  bread  the  body  and  blood  of 
its  founder,  should  be  accused  of  renewing  the  feasts  of 
Thyestes,  of  eating  children  covered  with  crust,  of  practising 
anthropophagy.162 

The  annual  festivities  were  always  Jewish  ones ;  above  all,  Pass- 
over and  Pentecost.163  The  Christian  Easter  was  generally  cele- 
brated the  same  day  as  the  Jewish  Passover.164  Nevertheless,  the 
cause  which  brought  about  the  transfer  of  the  ferial  day  of  each 
week,  from  the  Sabbath  to  Sunday,  contributed  also  to  regulate 
Easter,  not  after  the  Jewish  usage  and  recollections,  but  upon 
the  passion  and  resurrection  of  Jesus.165  It  is  not  impossible  that 
this  change  may  have  been  effected  in  the  churches  of  Greece 
and  Macedonia  while  Paul  was  yet  alive.  At  any  rate,  the  idea 
of  this  fundamental  fete  was  very  greatly  modified.  The  passage 
of  the  Red  Sea  became  of  little  moment  in  comparison  with  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus.  It  was  no  longer  thought  of,  unless  it  were 
as  containing  an  image  of  the  triumph  of  Jesus  over  death. 
The  true  passover  is  henceforth  Jesus,  who  was  offered  up  for  all. 


SAINT  PAUL.  173 

The  true  unleavened  bread  is  truth,  justice ;  the  old  leaven  is 
without  virtue,  and  should  be  rejected.160  In  a  word,  the  feast 
of  the  passover  had  undergone  a  similar  change  of  signification 
much  more  anciently  with  the  Hebrews.  It  certainly  was  a 
Spring  festival  in  the  beginning,  which  they  attached  by  an  arti- 
ficial etymology  to  the  remembrance  of  the  departure  out  of 
Egypt. 

Pentecost  was  also  celebrated  the  same  day  as  by  the  Jews.167 
Like  the  passover,  this  festivity  took  an  entirely  new  signification, 
which  clouded  the  old  Jewish  idea  with  obscurity.  Right  or 
wrong,  they  imagined  that  the  principal  incident  of  the  descent 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  assembled  apostles  had  taken  place 
on  the  day  of  the  Pentecost,  which  followed  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus.168  The  ancient  harvest-feast  of  the  Semitic  race  thus 
became  the  feast  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  new  religion.  Toward 
the  same  time,  this  festivity  underwent  with  the  Jews  a  similar 
transformation.  It  became  for  them  the  anniversary  of  the 
promulgation  of  the  Law  on  Mount  Sinai.169 

There  was  no  edifice  constructed  or  rented  expressly  for  the 
reunions,  consequently  no  art,  no  image.  Every  figurative 
representation  would  have  recalled  Paganism,  and  appeared 
like  idolatry.170  The  meetings  took  place  at  the  houses  of  the 
best-known  brethren,  or  who  had  a  well-regulated  room.171  They 
preferred  for  this  purpose,  rooms  which  in  the  oriental  houses 
form  the  upper  story,172  and  correspond  to  our  drawing-room. 
These  rooms  are  high,  pierced  with  numerous  windows,  very 
fresh,  and  well  aired.  It  was  there  that  they  received  their 
friends,  held  their  festivities,  prayed,  and  laid  out  their  dead.173 
The  groups  thus  formed  constituted  so  many  "domestic 
churches"  or  pious  coteries,  full  of  moral  activity,  and  very 
similar  to  those  "  domestic  colleges,"  examples  of  which  are 
found,  towards  the  same  period,  existing  in  Pagan  society.174 
Without  a  doubt,  in  the  large  cities  which  possessed  several  of 
these  domestic  churches,  there  were  plenary  churches,  in  which 
all  the  partial  churches  were  reunited.175  But  generally  the 


174  SAINT  PAUL. 

spirit  of  the  time  favored  small  societies.  All  important  affairs 
were  thus  established  in  inconsiderable  centres,  in  which  each 
one  is  in  close  contact  with  the  other,  and  in  which  the  souls  are 
warned  by  a  powerful  love.  Buddhism  alone,  up  to  that  period, 
had  raised  man  to  this  degree  of  heroism  and  purity.  The 
triumph  of  Christianity  is  inexplicable  when  only  studied 
up  to  the  fourth  century.  What  happens  almost  always  in 
human  affairs  happened  for  Christianity.  It  succeeded  when  it 
was  commencing  to  decline  morally ;  it  became  official  when 
it  was  already  nothing  more  than  a  remnant  of  itself;  its  popu- 
larity began  when  its  true  period  of  originality  and  youth  had 
passed ;  but  it  had  no  less  deserved  its  high  reward.  It  had 
merited  it,  for  its  three  centuries  of  virtue,  for  the  wonderful 
amount  of  inclination  to  the  good  which  it  had  inspired.  When 
we  think  of  this  miracle,  no  hyperbole  concerning  the  excel- 
lence of  Jesus  appears  out  of  place.  It  was  he,  he  always, 
who  was  the  inspirer,  the  Master,  the  vital  principle  in  his 
church.  His  divine  role  increased  every  year,  and  this  was 
right.  ">tje  was  no  longer  only  a  man  of  God,  a  great  prophet, 
"aTman  approved  of  and  authorized  by  God,  a  man  powerful  in 
word  and  deed.  These  expressions,  which  sufficed  for  the  faith 
and  love  of  the  disciples  of  the  early  days,176  now  passed  for 
insignificant.  Jesus  is  the  Lord,  the  Christ,  a  personage 
entirely  superhuman :  not  God  yet,  but  very  near  being  so. 
They  live  in  him,  they  die  in  him,  they  are  raised  in  him. 
Almost  all  they  say  of  God  they  say  of  him.  He  is,  indeed, 
already  a  sort  of  divine  hypostasis ;  and,  when  they  shall  wish 
to  identify  him  with  God,  it  will  only  be  a  matter  of  voca- 
bulary, a  simple  "  communication  of  idioms,"  as  the  theologians 
say.  We  shall  see  that  Paul  himself  will  reach  this.  The  most 
advanced  formulas  which  we  shall  find  in  the  epistle  to  the 
Colossians  exist  already  in  germ,  in  the  older  epistle.  "  We 
have  but  one  God  the  Father,  of  whom  are  all  things,  and  we 
in  him ;  and  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  are  all  things."  m 
A  few  words  more,  and  Jesus  will  be  the  creative  logos.™  The 


SAINT  PAUL.  175 

most  exaggerated  formulas  of  the  consubstantialists  of  the  fourth 
century  can  already  be  foreseen. 

The  idea  of  Christian  redemption  underwent  a  similar  trans- 
formation in  the  churches  of  Paul.  They  knew  little  about  the 
parables,  the  moral  teachings  of  Jesus.  The  gospels  were  not  yet 
in  existence.  Christ,  with  these  churches,  is  scarcely  a  real 
personality,  once  mortal.  He  is  the  image  of  God,179  a  heavenly 
minister,  having  taken  upon  himself  the  sins  of  the  world,180 
and  charged  to  reconcile  the  world  with  God.  He  is  a  divine 
renovator,  recreating  everything  anew,  and  abolishing  the  past.181 
He  died  for  all,  all  are  dead  to  the  world  through  him,  and  are 
to  live  no  more  except  through  him.182  He  was  rich  in  all  the 
riches  of  divinity,  and  he  became  poor  for  us.183  The 
Christian  life,  therefore,  is  to  be  a  contradiction  of  the 
signification.  Weakness  is  the  true  strength  ; 18*  death  is  the  true 
life  ;  carnal  wisdom  is  folly.185  Happy  is  he  who  carries  in  his 
body  the  dying  of  Jesus,  who  is  unceasingly  exposed  to  death 
for  Jesus.186  He  will  live  again  with  Jesus.  He  will  contemplate 
his  glory  face  to  face,  and  be  changed  into  him,  rising  unceas- 
ingly from  glory  to  glory.187  The  Christian  thus  lives  in  expecta- 
tion of  death,  and  in  a  perpetual  lamentation.  In  measure,  as 
the  outward  man  (the  body)  falls  into  ruins,  the  inward  man  (the 
soul)  is  renewed.  A  moment  of  tribulations  gains  for  him  an 
eternity  of  glory.  What  matter  if  his  earthly  house  be  dissolved  ? 
He  has  in  heaven  an  eternal  house,  not  made  by  hands  of  man. 
Terrestrial  life  is  an  exile  ;  death  is  the  return  to  God,  an  equiva- 
lent to  the  absorption  of  everything  mortal  by  life  eternal.188 
But  this  treasure  of  hope  is  carried  by  the  Christian  in  an 
earthen  vessel ; 189  and,  until  the  last  day,  when  everything  shall 
appear  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ,190  must  he  live  in 
trembling. 


176  SAINT  PAUL. 


CHAPTER  X. 

RETURN   OF   PAUL  TO   ANTIOCH. — DISPUTE    BETWEEN    PETER 

AND   PAUL. COUNTER-MISSION    ORGANIZED    BY  JAMES, 

BROTHER   OF   THE    LORD. 

PAUL,  nevertheless,  felt  the  need  of  revisiting  the  churches  of 
Syria.  It  was  three  years  since  he  had  left  Antioch.  Although 
it  had  lasted  less  time  than  the  first,  this  new  mission  had  been 
much  more  important.  The  new  churches,  recruited  among 
vigorous  and  energetic  populations,  brought  to  the  feet  of  Jesus 
homages  of  priceless  value.  Paul  wished  to  relate  all  this  to  the 
apostles,  and  to  attach  himself  to  the  mother-church,  model  of 
the  others.1  In  spite  of  his  love  of  independence,  he  well  per- 
ceived that,  unless  in  communion  with  Jerusalem,  there  was  only 
schism  and  dissension.  The  admirable  mixture  of  opposite 
qualities  which  formed  his  nature,  allowed  him  to  join  in  the 
most  unexpected  manner  docility  to  haughtiness,  revolt  to 
submission,  harshness  to  -mildness.  Paul  made  the  celebration 
of  the  passover  of  the  year  54,"  a  pretext  for  his  departure.  In 
order  to  give  more  solemnity  to  his  resolution,  and  to  render  a 
change  of  mind  impossible,  he  made  a  vow  to  celebrate  this 
passover  at  Jerusalem.  The  manner  of  taking  these  vows  was 
to  shear  the  head  and  bind  one's  self  to  certain  prayers,  as  well 
as  to  abstinence  from  wine,  for  thirty  days  before  the  festivity.3 
Paul  bade  adieu  to  his  church,  had  his  head  shorn  at  Cenchrea,4 
and  embarked  for  Syria.  He  was  accompanied  by  Aquila  and 
Priscilla,  who  were  to  stop  at  Ephesus ;  perhaps  also  by  Silas. 
As  to  Timothy,  it  is  probable  that  he  did  not  leave  Corinth 
or  the  coasts  of  the  ^Egean  Sea.  We  shall  find  him  again  at 
Ephesus,  after  the  lapse  of  a  year.6 

The  vessel  stopped  a  few  days  at  Ephesus.  Paul  had  time  to 
go  to  the  synagogue  and  dispute  with  the  Jews.  They  begged 


SAINT  PAUL.  177 

him  to  remain,  but  he  informed  them  of  his  vow,  and  declared 
that  he  wished  by  all  means  to  celebrate  the  feast  at  Jerusalem. 
He  simply  promised  to  return.  He  then  took  leave  of  Aquila 
and  Priscilla,  and  of  those  with  whom  he  had  already  entered 
into  connections,  and  set  sail  again  for  Cesarea  of  Palestine, 
from  whence  he  soon  went  to  Jerusalem." 

He  there  celebrated  the  feast  in  accordance  with  his  vow. 
Perhaps  this  entirely  Jewish  scruple  was  a  concession,  like  so 
many  others  made  by  him,  to  the  spirit  of  the  church  of  Jeru- 
salem. He  hoped  by  an  act  of  great  devotion  to  have  his  bold 
doings  pardoned,  and  to  gain  for  himself  the  good-will  of  the 
Judaizing  party.7  The  discussions  had  become  scarcely  quiet, 
and  peace  only  lasted  through  force  of  transactions;  It  is 
probable  that  he  profited  by  the  occasion  to  give  a  considerable 
offering  to  the  poor  of  Jerusalem.8  Paul,  according  to  his  cus- 
tom, remained  a  very  short  while  in  the  metropolis.9  He  was 
here  in  the  presence  of  susceptibilities  which  would  not  have 
failed  to  bring  about  misunderstandings,  had  he  prolonged  his 
sojourn.  He,  accustomed  to  live  in  the  delicious  atmosphere 
of  his  truly  Christian  churches,  found  here,  under  the  name  of 
relatives  of  Jesus,  no  one  but  Jews.  It  struck  him  that  not 
sufficient  grandeur  was  assigned  to  Jesus.  He  was  indignant 
that  after  Jesus  any  value  whatever  should  be  set  upon  what 
had  existed  before  him. 

The  chief  of  the  church  of  Jerusalem  was  now  James,  the 
brother  of  the  Lord.  Not  that  the  authority  of  Peter  had  dimin- 
ished, but  he  was  no  longer  stationed  in  the  holy  city.  Partly 
in  imitation  of  Paul,  he  had  entered  upon  active  apostolic  life.10 
The  idea  that  Paul  was  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  and  Peter 
the  apostle  of  circumcision,11  came  to  be  more  and  more  ac- 
cepted. Conformably  to  this  idea,  Peter  set  about  evangelizing 
the  Jews  throughout  all  Syria.12  He  took  with  him  a  sister,  as 
wife  and  deaconess,"  thus  giving  the  first  example  of  a  married 
apostle,  —  an  example  which  Protestant  missionaries  were  to 
follow  at  a  later  period.  John-Mark  always  appears  to  accom- 


1 78  SAINT  PAUL. 

pany  him  as  his  disciple,  his  companion,  and  his  interpreter ; u 
a  circumstance  which  leads  us  to  suppose  that  the  first  of  the 
apostles  did  not  understand  Greek.  Peter  had,  to  a  certain 
extent,  adopted  John-Mark,  and  treated  him  as  his  son.15 

The  details  of  the  wanderings  of  Peter  are  unknown  to  us. 
The  account  given  of  them  later,16  is  to  a  great  extent  fabulous. 
We  only  know  that  the  life  of  the  apostle  of  circumcision,  like 
that  of  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  was  a  series  of  trials.17  We 
can  also  believe  that  the  itinerary  which  serves  as  basis  of  the 
fabulous  acts  of  Peter,  — an  itinerary  which  conducts  the  apostle 
from  Jerusalem  to  Cesarea,  from  Cesarea  along  the  coast  by 
way  of  Tyre,  Sidon,  Berytus,  Biblos,  Tripoli,  Antaradus,  to  Lao- 
dicea  on  the  sea,  and  from  Laodicea  to  Antioch,  is  not  imaginary. 
The  apostle  certainly  visited  Antioch.18  We  even  believe  he 
made  it  his  ordinary  residence  for  a  certain  period.19  The  lakes 
and  the  ponds  formed  by  the  Orontes  and  the  Arkeuthas,  in  the 
suburbs  of  the  city,  and  which  furnished  an  inferior  quality 20  of 
fresh-water  fish  to  the  lower  classes  at  a  low  price,  probably 
offered  him  an  opportunity  to  resume  his  old  calling  of  fisherman. 

Several  of  the  brothers  of  the  Lord,  and  some  of  the  members 
of  the  apostolic  college  likewise,  traversed  the  neighboring  coun- 
tries of  Judea.  Like  Peter,  and  different  in  that  respect  from 
the  missionaries  of  the  school  of  Paul,  they  travelled  with  their 
wives,  and  lived  at  the  expense  of  the  churches.21  The  calling 
which  they  had  followed  in  Galilee  was  not,  like  that  of  Paul, 
of  a  nature  to  support  them,  and  they  had  abandoned  it  long 
before  this.  The  women  who  accompanied  them,  and  whom 
they  called  sisters,  were  the  origin  of  those  sous-introditites,  a 
sort  of  deaconesses  or  nuns,  living  under  the  direction  of  a  clerk, 
who  play  an  important  rdle  in  the  history  of  ecclesiastical 
celibacy.22 

Peter,  having  in  this  manner  ceased  to  be  the  resident  chief 
of  the  church  of  Jerusalem,  several  members  of  the  apostolic 
council  having  likewise  entered  upon  a  life  of  journeying, 
the  first  rank  in  the  mother-church  was  assigned  to  James.23 


SAINT  PAUL.  179 

He  thus  became  "Bishop  of  the  Hebrews,"  that  is  to  say,  of 
that  portion  of  the  disciples  who  spoke  Semitic.14  That  did 
not  constitute  him  Chief  of  the  church  Universal.  No  one  had, 
strictly  speaking,  the  right  to  take  such  a  title,  which  was  in 
fact  shared  between  Peter  and  Paul.23  But  the  presidency  of 
the  church  of  Jerusalem,  joined  to  the  fact  of  his  being  brother 
of  the  Lord,  gave  to  James  a  very  great  authority,  since  the 
church  of  Jerusalem  always  remained  the  centre  of  unity. 
James  was,  moreover,  very  old.26  Some  manifestations  of  arro- 
gance, a  great  deal  of  prejudice,  a  spirit  of  stubbornness,  were 
the  consequence  of  such  a  position.  All  the  faults  which  were 
at  a  later  period  to  make  the  Court  of  Rome  a  scourge  to  the 
church,  and  the  principal  agent  of  its  corruption,  already  existed 
in  embryo  in  this  primitive  community  of  Jerusalem. 

James  was  a  respectable  man  in  many  regards,  but  a  narrow- 
minded  one,  against  whom  Jesus  would  have  levelled  his  finest- 
pointed  railleries,  had  he  known  him ;  at  least,  had  he  known  him 
such  as  he  is  represented  to  us.  Was  he  really  the  brother,  or 
only  the  first  cousin  of  Jesus  ? 27  All  the  testimony  in  this  re- 
spect is  so  concordant,  that  we  are  forced  to  believe  it.  But 
then  this  is  one  of  the  most  fantastic  proceedings  of  nature. 
Probably  this  brother,  not  having  been  converted  until  after  the 
death  of  Jesus,  possessed  to  a  less  extent  the  true  tradition  of 
the  Master  than  those  who,  without  being  his  relatives,  had  been 
intimate  with  him  during  his  life.  At  least,  the  very  surprising 
fact  remains,  that  two  children  of  the  same  parents,  or  the  same 
family,  should  have  been  at  first  enemies,  should  then  have 
become  reconciled  to  remain  so  entirely  distinct,  —  that  the 
only  well-known  brother  of  Jesus  should  have  been  a  sort  of 
Pharisee,  an  outward  ascetic,  a  devotee,  infected  with  all  the 
ridiculous  practices  which  Jesus  relentlessly  pursued.  But  cer- 
tain it  is,  that  the  personage  whom  they  called  at  this  period 
"James,  the  Brother  of  the  Lord,"  or  "James,  the  Just,"  or  the 
"Bulwark  of  the  People," 23  was,  in  the  church  of  Jerusalem, 
the  representative  of  the  most  intolerant  Jewish  party.  While 


i8o  SAINT  PAUL. 

the  active  apostles  were  travelling  about  the  world  to  conquer 
it  in  Jesus'  name,  the  brother  of  Jesus,  at  Jerusalem,  was  doing 
all  that  he  could  to  destroy  their  work,  and  contradict  Jesus 
after  his  death  in  a  more  profound  manner,  perhaps,  than  he 
had  done  during  his  life. 

This  society  of  ill-converted  Pharisees,  this  world,  in  reality 
more  Jewish  than  Christian,  living  about  the  temple,  preserving 
the  ancient  practices  of  Jewish  piety  as  if  Jesus  had  not  declared 
them  vain,  constituted  an  insupportable  union  for  Paul.  What 
must  have  irritated  him  in  particular  was  the  opposition  of  all 
these  people  to  propaganda.  Like  the  Jews  of  strict  obser- 
vance,29 the  partisans  of  James  were  opposed  to  proselytism. 
Old  religious  organizations  frequently  fall  into  such  contradic- 
tions. On  one  side,  they  proclaim  themselves  in  sole  possession 
of  the  truth ;  on  the  other,  they  do  not  wish  to  enlarge  their 
sphere, — they  aspire  to  keep  the  truth  to  themselves.  French 
Protestantism  presents  in  our  day  a  similar  phenomenon. 
Two  opposite  parties,  one  desiring  above  all  the  preservation 
of  old  symbols,  the  other  capable  of  gaining  a  multitude  of 
new  adherents  to  Protestantism,  having  risen  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Reformed  Church,  the  conservative  party  has  waged  a 
furious  warfare  against  it.  It  has  offensively  rejected  every- 
thing which  would  have  resembled  a  surrender  of  family  tra- 
ditions ;  and,  in  place  of  brilliant  destinies,  it  has  preferred  to 
be  allowed  the  pleasure  of  remaining  a  petty  ccenaculum.  of  no 
importance,  closed,  and  composed  of  thinking  people;  that  is 
to  say,  of  people  sharing  the  same  prejudices,  and  of  one  mind 
in  regard  to  things  deemed  aristocratic.  The  feeling  of  distrust 
experienced  by  the  members  of  the  old  party  at  Jerusalem,  be- 
fore the  bold  missionary  who  brought  them  multitudes  of  new 
brethren  without  titles  of  Jewish  nobility,  must  have  presented 
similar  circumstances.  They  saw  themselves  overwhelmed,  and, 
instead  of  falling  at  the  feet  of  Paul  and  thanking  him,  they' 
regarded  him  as  a  disturber,  an  intruder,  who  was  forcing  the 
gates  with  people  recruited  from  all  quarters.  More  than  one 


SAINT  PAUL.  181 

hard  word  was,  it  appears,  exchanged.80  It  is  probable  that  it 
was  at  this  moment  that  James,  brother  of  the  Lord,  conceived 
the  project  which  came  near  destroying  the  work  of  Jesus.  I 
refer  to  the  project  of  a  counter-mission,  charged  to  follow  the 
apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  to  contradict  his  principles,  to  persuade 
the  converts  that  it  was  obligatory  for  them  to  have  themselves 
circumcised,  and  to  practise  the  entire  law.31  Sectarian  move- 
ments never  take  place  without  schisms  of  this  kind,  as  was  the 
case  with  the  chiefs  of  St.  Simonism  who  denied  each  other,  and 
still  remained  united  in  St.  Simon,  while  those  surviving  them 
were  eventually  reconciled  of  their  own  accord.32 

Paul  avoided  the  outbursts  by  setting  out  as  soon  as  possible 
for  Antioch.  It  was  probably  at  this  time  that  Silas  separated 
from  him.  The  latter  was  originally  of  the  church  of  Jerusalem. 
He  remained  there,  and  henceforth  attached  himself  to  Peter.83 
Silas,  as  the  editor  of  the  Acts,  appears  to  have  been  a  man  of 
conciliating  disposition,34  vacillating  between  the  two  parties, 
and  attached  alternately  to  the  two  leaders,  — a  true  Christian  in 
the  main,  and  of  that  opinion,  which,  by  its  triumph,  saved  the 
church.  Never,  in  fact,  did  the  Christian  church  contain  in  its 
organization  so  profound  a  cause  of  schism  as  that  which  dis- 
turbed it  at  this  period.  Luther,  and  the  most  methodical 
scholiast,  differed  less  than  Paul  and  James.  Thanks  to  a  few 
mild  and  good  characters,  —  Silas,  Luke,  and  Timothy,  — all  the 
shocks  were  deadened,  all  the  bitterness  disguised.  A  beautiful 
narration,  calm  and  dignified,35  only  displays  a  fraternal  agree- 
ment in  these  years,  which  were  fermented  by  such  terrible 
disorders. 

At  Antioch,  Paul  breathed  freely.  He  met  there  his  old 
companion  Barnabas,36  and  they  doubtless  experienced  great 
joy  upon  meeting  again ;  for  the  motive  which  had  for  the  mo- 
ment alienated  them  was  not  a  question  of  principle.  Here, 
probably,  Paul  again  met  his  disciple  Titus,  who  had  not  accom- 
panied him  on  his  second  journey,  and  who,  henceforth,  was 
to  attach  himself  to  him.37  The  narration  of  the  miracles  of 
16 


1 82  SAINT  PAUL. 

conversion  performed  by  Paul,  surprised  this  young  and  active 
church.  Paul,  on  his  part,  experienced  a  lively  sentiment  of 
joy  upon  re- visiting  the  city  which  had  been  the  cradle  of  his 
apostolate,  —  the  place  where  he  had  conceived,  ten  years  before, 
in  company  with  Barnabas,  his  immense  projects,  —  the  church 
which  had  conferred  upon  him  the  title  of  missionary  of  the 
Gentiles.  A  very  grave  incident  was  destined  soon  to  interrupt 
these  sweet  effusions,  and  to  call  to  life  the  temporarily  sup- 
pressed divisions,  with  a  degree  of  intensity  which  they  had  not 
as  yet  possessed. 

While  Paul  was  at  Antioch,  Peter  arrived  there.38  At  first, 
this  only  served  to  redouble  the  joy  and  cordiality.  The  apostle 
of  the  Jews  and  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles  loved  each  other, 
as  very  good  and  strong  natures  always  love  each  other  when 
they  find  themselves  in  connection  with  one  another.  Peter 
communicated  unreservedly  with  the  converted  heathen,  even 
openly  violating  the  Jewish  ordinances.  He  did  not  scruple  to 
eat  with  them ;  but  this  good  understanding  was  soon  disturbed. 
James  had  executed  his  fatal  project.  Brethren,  furnished  with 
letters  of  recommendation,  signed  by  him,39  as  the  chief  of  the 
Twelve,  and  who  alone  had  the  right  to  authorize  a  mission,  set 
out  from  Jerusalem.  They  pretended  that  no  one  could  an- 
nounce himself  as  a  teacher  of  Christ,  if  he  had  not  been  at 
Jerusalem  to  compare  his  doctrine  with  that  of  James,  brother 
of  the  Lord,40  and  if  he  did  not  bear  a  certificate  from  the  latter. 
Jerusalem  was,  according  to  them,  the  source  of  all  faith,  of 
every  apostolic  mandate ;  the  true  apostles  resided  there.41  Who- 
ever preached  without  letters  of  credentials  from  the  head  of 
the  mother-church,  without  having  sworn  obedience  to  him, 
should  be  rejected  as  a  false  prophet,  and  a  false  apostle,  —  as 
an  envoy  of  Satan.42  Paul,  who  had  no  such  letters,  was  an 
intruder,  priding  himself  on  unreal  revelations,  and  upon  a 
mission  to  which  he  could  not  produce  the  titles.43  He  urged 
the  fact  of  his  visions,  even  sustaining  his  having  seen  Jesus  in 
a  supernatural  manner.  "What  could  be  more  chimerical?" 


SAINT  PAUL.  183 

said  the  Hierosolymites.  "No  vision  equals  the  evidence  of 
the  senses;  visions  do  not  afford  certainty;  the  spectre  seen 
may  be  an  evil  spirit ;  the  idolaters  have  visions  exactly  like  the 
devout.  When  we  interrogate  the  apparition,  we  can  reply  to 
ourselves  as  we  choose ;  the  spectre  shines  for  a  moment,  then 
disappears  quickly ;  there  is  no  time  to  speak  calmly  to  him. 
The  thoughts  of  the  dreamer  are  not  his  own ;  in  this  state  there 
is  no  presence  of  mind.  See  the  Son  disembodied !  but  that  is 
impossible ;  it  would  bring  death  with  it.  The  superhuman  bril- 
liancy of  such  a  vision  would  be  fatal.  Even  an  angel,  in  order 
to  render  himself  visible,  is  obliged  to  assume  a  mortal  form." 
The  emissaries,  in  this  connection,  referred  to  a  number  of 
visions  had  by  the  unfaithful  and  the  impious,  and  so  arrived  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  column-apostles,  those  who  had  seen 
Jesus,  possessed  a  very  great  superiority.  They  even  quoted 
Scripture  texts,44  proving  that  visions  came  from  God  in  his 
wrath,  while  the  intercourse  face  to  face  was  a  privilege  of 
friends.  "  How  can  Paul  sustain  that  through  an  interview  of 
an  hour  Jesus  had  rendered  him  capable  of  teaching  ?  An  entire 
year  of  teaching  had  been  necessary  to  Jesus  in  order  to  form 
his  apostles.  And  if  Jesus  really  did  appear  to  him,  how  is  it  that 
he  teaches  the  contrary  of  Jesus'  doctrine  ?  Let  him  prove  the 
reality  of  the  conversation  that  he  had  with  Jesus,  by  conforming 
to  the  precepts  of  Jesus,  by  loving  his  apostles,  by  not  declar- 
ing war  against  those  whom  Jesus  has  chosen.  If  he  wishes  to 
serve  the  truth,  let  him  become  the  disciple  of  Jesus'  disciples, 
and  then  he  will  be  enabled  to  be  an  useful  assistant."  *5  The 
question  of  ecclesiastical  authority  and  individual  revelation, 
of  Catholicism  and  Protestantism,  was  thus  put  with  veritable 
grandeur.  Jesus  had  decided  upon  nothing  very  concisely  in 
this  respect.  While  he  lived,  and  in  the  first  years  subsequent 
to  his  death,  Jesus  was  so  entirely  the  life  and  soul  of  his  little 
church  that  no  idea  of  government  and  constitution  presented 
itself.  Now,  on  the  contrary,  the  question  was  to  know  whether 
there  was  a  power  representing  Jesus,  or  whether  the  Christian 


1 84  SAINT  PAUL. 

conscience  remained  free;  whether,  in  order  to  preach  Jesus, 
letters  of  obedience  were  necessary,  or  whether  the  affirmation 
that  one  was  enlightened  by  Jesus  was  sufficient.  As  Paul  did 
not  give  any  proof  of  his  immediate  mission  other  than  his 
affirmation,  his  situation  in  many  respects  was  weak.  We  shall 
see  by  what  prodigies  of  eloquence  and  activity  the  great  inno- 
vator, attacked  on  all  sides,  will  confront  every  attack,  and 
maintain  his  right  without  absolute  rupture  with  the  Apostolic 
College,  whose  authority  he  recognized  whenever  his  liberty 
was  not  restrained  by  it.  But  this  struggle  itself  will  render 
him  but  slightly  agreeable  to  us.  A  man  who  disputes,  resists, 
speaks  of  himself,  —  a  man  who  maintains  his  opinion  and  his 
prerogative,  who  puts  others  ill  at  ease,  who  apostrophizes  them 
to  their  face,  —  such  a  man  is  disagreeable  to  us.  Jesus,  in  such 
a  case,  yielded  everything,  and  freed  himself  from  embarrass- 
ment by  some  pleasing  expression. 

The  emissaries  of  James  arrived  at  Antioch.46  James, 
while  allowing  that  the  converted  Gentiles  could  be  saved 
without  observing  the  law  of  Moses,  did  not  admit  that  a  true 
Jew,  a  circumcised  Jew,  could  violate  the  law  with  impunity. 
The  horror  of  the  disciples  of  ,  James  reached  its  height 
when  they  saw  the  chief  of  the  churches  of  circumcision 
act  like  a  true  Pagan,  and  tear  these  outward  compacts 
which  a  respectable  Jew  regarded  as  his  titles  of  nobility. 
They  spoke  emphatically  to  Peter,  who  was  much  fright- 
ened. This  man,  profoundly  kind  and  upright,  desired  peace 
above  all  things.  He  was  incapable  of  opposing  any  one. 
This  rendered  him  changeable,  at  least  in  appearance.  He 
was  easily  confused,  and  could  not  reply  readily :  even 
during  the  life  of  Jesus,  this  kind  of  timidity,  resulting  from 
awkwardness  rather  than  from  lack  of  heart,  had  led  him  to 
commit  a  fault  which  cost  him  many  tears.47  Little  able  to 
dispute,  incapable  of  opposing  persistent  people,  in  difficult 
cases  he  kept  silent  and  delayed  action.  Such  a  style  of  chai- 
acter  led  him  again  upon  this  occasion  to  commit  a  great 


SAINT  PAUL.  185 

act  of  weakness.  Placed  between  two  classes  of  people,  of 
which  he  could  not  satisfy  the  one  without  offending  the  other, 
he  isolated  himself  completely,  and  lived  apart,  refusing  all 
connection  with  the  uncircumcised.  This  manner  of  acting 
greatly  wounded  the  converted  Gentiles.  What  was  still  graver 
than  this,  is,  that  all  the  circumcised  imitated  him.  Barnabas 
himself  allowed  himself  to  be  won  over,  and  avoided  the  un- 
circumcised Christians. 

The  anger  of  Paul  knew  no  bounds.  But  call  to  mind  the 
ritual  capacity  of  the  repast  in  common.  To  refuse  to  eat  with 
a  portion  of  the  community  was  to  excommunicate  it.  Paul 
burst  out  into  reproaches,48  treated  this  conduct  as  hypocrisy, 
accused  Peter  and  his  imitators  of  distorting  the  signification 
of  the  Gospel.  The  church  was  to  assemble  shortly  after 
the  two  apostles  met  there.  Face  to  face,  and  before  the  whole 
assembly,  Paul  violently  apostrophized  Peter,  and  blamed  his 
inconsistency.  "  What !  "  said  he  to  him,  "  thou  who  art  a  Jew, 
thou  dost  not  live  as  a  Jew;49  in  practice  thou  comportest 
thyself  like  a  true  heathen,  and  thou  wishest  to  force  us  to 
become  Jews."  Then  he  developed  his  favorite  theory  of 
salvation  wrought  by  Jesus  and  not  by  the  law,  of  the  abrogation 
of  the  law  by  Jesus.  It  is  probable  that  Peter  did  not  reply 
to  him.  In  the  main,  he  was  of  Paul's  opinion.  Like  all  men 
who  seek  through  harmless  contrivances  to  get  clear  of  a  diffi- 
culty, he  did  not  pretend  to  be  right, — he  only  wished  to  satisfy 
some,  and  not  alienate  the  others.  In  this  manner,  one  usually 
succeeds  only  in  offending  every  one. 

The  withdrawal  of  the  envoys  of  James  alone  put  an  end 
to  the  dissension.  After  their  departure,  the  good  Peter  doubt- 
less recommenced  eating  with  the  Gentiles  as  formerly. 
These  singular  successions  of  violence  and  fraternity  constitute 
one  of  the  traits  of  Jewish  character.  Modern  critics,  who 
conclude  from  certain  passages  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,50 
that  the  rupture  between  Peter  and  Paul  was  absolute,  put 
themselves  in  contradiction,  not  only  to  the  Acts  but  to  other 
16* 


1 86  SAINT  PAUL. 

passages  of  the  epistle  to  the  Galatians.51  Fervent  men  pass 
their  lives  disputing  together  without  ever  falling  out.  We 
must  not  judge  these  characters  after  the  manner  of  things 
which  take  place  in  our  day  between  people  well-bred,  and 
susceptible  in  a  point  of  honor.  This  last  word,  especially, 
never  has  had  much  significance  with  the  Jews. 

It  is  very  apparent,  nevertheless,  that  the  rupture  of  Antioch 
left  profound  traces.  The  great  church  on  the  borders  of  the 
Orontes  was  divided,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  express  myself  so, 
into  two  parishes,  —  that  of  the  circumcised  on  one  hand, 
that  of  the  uncircumcised  on  the  other.  The  separation  of 
these  two  halves  of  the  church  lasted  for  a  long  while.  Antioch, 
as  is  stated  at  a  later  period,  had  two  bishops,  —  one  instituted 
by  Peter,  the  other  by  Paul.  Euodias  and  Ignatius  are  desig- 
nated as  having,  after  the  apostles,  become  these  dignitaries.52 

As  to  the  animosity  of  the  emissaries  of  James,  it  did  nothing 
but  increase.  The  scene  at  Antioch  impressed  them  with  a 
resentment,  the  indignant  mention  of  which  is  still  found,  after 
a  century,  in  the  writings  of  the  Jewish-Christian  party.53  This 
eloquent  adversary,  who  alone  by  himself  had  stopped  the 
church  of  Antioch  on  the  very  point  of  acknowledging  their 
views,  became  their  great  enemy.  They  vowed  him  a  hatred, 
which,  during  his  lifetime,  will  cause  him  countless  misfortunes ; 
which,  after  his  death,  will  call  down  upon  him  the  bloody 
anathemas  and  atrocious  calumnies  of  an  entire  half  of  the 
church.54  Passion  and  religious  enthusiasm  are  far  from  sup- 
pressing human  weaknesses.  In  leaving  Antioch,  the  agents 
of  the  Hierosolymitic  party  swore  to  overturn  the  establishments 
of  Paul,  to  destroy  his  churches,  to  throw  down  what  he  had 
built  up  with  so  much  labor.55  It  appears  that  upon  this  occa- 
sion, new  letters  were  sent  from  Jerusalem  in  the  name  of  the 
apostles.  It  is  even  possible  that  one  of  these  hateful  letters 
has  been  preserved  to  us,  in  the  epistle  of  Jude,  —  brother 
of  James,  and  like  him,  brother  of  the  Lord,  —  which  constitutes 
a  part  of  the  canon.  It  is  one  of  the  most  violent  facta  against 


SAINT  PAUL.  187 

anonymous  adversaries,  who  are  represented  as  disobedient 
and  ungodly  persons.66  The  style  of  the  writing,  which  much 
more  resembles  the  classic  Greek  than  that  of  the  greater 
portion  of  the  New  Testament,  bears  much  analogy  to  the 
style  of  the  epistle  of  James.  James  and  Jude  probably  did 
not  understand  Greek.  The  church  of  Jerusalem  perhaps  had 
Hellenic  secretaries  for  such  communications. 

"  Beloved,  when  I  gave  all  diligence  to  write  unto  you  of  the 
common  salvation,57  it  was  needful  for  me  to  write  unto  you, 
and  exhort  you  that  ye  should  earnestly  contend  for  the  faith 
which  was  once  delivered  unto  the  saints.  For  there  are 
certain  men  crept  in  unawares  who  were  before  of  old  ordained 
to  this  condemnation,  ungodly  men,  turning  the  grace  of  our 
God  unto  lasciviousness,  and  denying  the  only  Lord  God, 
and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  will  therefore  put  you  in  remem- 
brance, though  ye  once  knew  this,  how  that  the  Lord,  having 
saved  the  people  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  afterward  destroyed 
them  that  believed  not.  And  the  angels  that  kept  not  their 
first  estate,  but  left  their  own  habitation,58  he  hath  reserved 
in  everlasting  chains  under  darkness  unto  the  judgment  of  the 
great  day.  Even  as  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  the  cities 
about  them  in  like  manner,  giving  themselves  over  to  fornica- 
tion, and  going  after  strange  flesh,  are  set  forth  as  an  example, 
suffering  the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire.  Likewise  also,  these 
filthy  dreamers  defile  the  flesh,  despise  dominion,  and  speak 
evil  of  dignities.59  Yet  Michael,  the  archangel,  when  contend- 
ing with  the  devil,  he  disputed  about  the  body  of  Moses,00  durst 
not  bring  against  him  a  railing  accusation,  but  said,  '  the  Lord 
rebuke  thee.'61  But  these  speak  evil  of  those  things  which 
they  know  not ;  but  what  they  know  naturally,  as  brute  beasts, 
in  those  things  they  corrupt  themselves.  Woe  unto  them ! 
for  they  have  gone  in  the  way  of  Cain,  and  greedily  after  the 
error  of  Balaam62  for  reward,63  and  perished  in  the  gainsaying 
of  Core.  These  are  the  spots  in  your  feasts  of  charity,  when 
they  feast  with  you,  feeding  themselves  without  fear.  Clouds 


1 88  SAINT  PAUL. 

are  they  without  water,  carried  about  of  winds;  trees,  whose 
fruit  withereth,  without  fruit,  twice  dead,  plucked  up  by  the 
roots ;  raging  waves  of  the  sea,  foaming  out  their  own  shame ; 
wandering  stars,  to  whom  is  reserved  the  blackness  of  darkness 
forever.  And  Enoch  also,  the  seventh  from  Adam,  prophesied 
of  these,  saying,  Behold,  the  Lord  cometh  with  ten  thousand 
of  his  saints,  to  execute  judgment  upon  all,  and  to  convince 
all  that  are  ungodly  among  them  of  all  their  ungodly  deeds  which 
they  have  ungodly  committed,  and  of  all  their  hard  speeches 
which  ungodly  sinners  have  spoken  against  him.64  These  are 
murmurers,  complainers,  walking  after  their  own  lusts ;  and 
their  mouths  speak  great  swelling  words,  having  men's  persons 
in  admiration  because  of  advantage.  But,  beloved,  remember 
ye  the  words  which  were  spoken  before  of  the  apostles  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  how  that  they  told  you  there  should  be 
mockers  in  the  last  time  who  should  walk  after  their  own 
ungodly  lusts." 

From  this  moment,  Paul  becomes,  in  the  eyes  of  an  entire 
fragment  of  the  church,  a  most  dangerous  heretic,  a  false  Jew,65 
a  false  apostle,66  a  false  prophet,67  a  second  Balaam,63  a  Jezebel,69 
a  wretch  who  was  harping  upon  the  destruction  of  the  Temple.70 
To  tell  all  in  two  words,  a  Simon  the  Magician.71  Peter  was 
reputed  to  be  everywhere  and  always  occupied  in  opposing 
him.72  Tl>ey  accustomed  themselves  to  designate  the  apostle 
of  the  Gentiles  by  the  sobriquet  of  Nicholas  (Conqueror  of 
the  people),  approximative  translation  of  Balaam.™  The  sob- 
riquet took  well.  A  heathen  seducer  who  had  visions,  although 
unfaithful,74  a  man  who  prevailed  upon  the  people  to  sin  with 
heathen  maidens,75  appeared  the  true  type  of  Paul,  —  this  false 
visionary,  this  partisan  of  mixed  marriages.76  In  the  same 
manner  his  disciples  were  called  Nicolaitanes?'1  Far  from  for- 
getting his  rble  as  persecutor,  they  dwelt  upon  it  in  the  most 
odious  manner.78  His  gospel  was  a  false  gospel.79  It  is  to 
Paul  that  reference  is  made  when  the  fanatics  of  the  party 
conversed  among  themselves  in  ambiguous  language  of  a  per- 


SAINT  PAUL.  189 

sonage  whom  they  called  "the  Apostate,"80  or  "the  Hostile 
Man," 81  or  "  the  Impostor,"  precursor  of  the  Anti-Christ,  upon 
whose  trail  the  chief  of  the  apostles  follows  in  order  to  repair 
the  evil  which  he  does.82  Paul  was  the  "frivolous  man" 
from  whom  the  Gentiles,  in  their  ignorance,  received  the  doctrine 
inimical  to  the  law.83  His  visions,  which  he  called  "  the  deep 
things  of  God,"  they  termed  "the  deep  things  of  Satan."84 
His  churches  they  called  "  the  synagogues  of  Satan.  n85  Through 
hatred  to  Paul,  it  was  loudly  proclaimed  that  the  twelve  alone 
constituted  the  foundation  of  the  edifice  of  Christ.86 

An  entire  legend  began  from  that  moment  to  form  itself 
against  Paul.  They  refused  to  believe  that  a  genuine  Jew  could 
have  been  able  to  commit  an  atrocity  like  the  one  of  which  they 
found  him  guilty.  They  claimed  that  he  had  been  born  a  hea- 
then,87 that  he  had  become  a  proselyte.  And  why  ?  Calumny 
is  never  in  want  of  reasons.  Paul  had  had  himself  circumcised 
because  he  had  hoped  to  marry  the  daughter  of  the  high  priest.83 
The  high  priest,  like  a  wise  man  as  he  was,  having  refused  her 
to  him,  Paul,  out  of  spite,  set  about  declaiming  against  cir- 
cumcision, the  Sabbath,  and  the  law.89  .  .  .  Such  is  the 
reward  that  one  obtains  from  fanatics  for  having  served  their 
cause  otherwise  than  they  desired ;  or  rather,  for  having  saved 
the  cause  which  they  were  destroying  by  their  narrow  minds 
and  their  foolish  exclusions. 

James,  on  the  contrary,  became  for  the  Jewish-Christian 
party  the  chief  of  all  Christendom,  the  bishop  of  bishops,  the 
president  of  all  the  good  churches,  of  those  which  God  had  really 
established.90  It  was  probably  after  his  death  that  they  created 
for  him  this  apocryphal  role  ;91  but  without  doubt  the  legend  in 
this  case  is  founded  in  several  respects  upon  the  real  character  of 
the  hero.  The  grave  language  of  James,  so  lacking  in  emphasis ; M 
his  manners,  which  reminded  them  of  a  sage  of  the  old  world,  • 
a  solemn  Brahmin,  or  an  ancient  mobed ;  his  sanctity  of  show 
and  ostentation  ;  —  made  him  a  character  for  exhibition  to  the 
people,  an  official  holy  man,  and  even  then  a  sort  of  pope. 


190  SAINT  PAUL. 

The  Jewish-Christians  became  accustomed  by  degrees  to  be- 
lieve that  he  had  been  clothed  with  the  Jewish  priesthood,93 
and  as  the  insignia  of  the  high  priest  was  the  petalon,  or  blade 
of  gold 94  on  the  forehead,  they  decorated  him  with  it.95  "  Bul- 
wark of  the  people,"  with  his  blade  of  gold,  thus  became  a  sort 
of  Jewish  bonze,  a  high  priest  in  imitation  of  the  customs  of  the 
Jewish-Christians.  It  was  supposed,  that,  like  the  high  priest, 
by  virtue  of  a  special  permission,  he  entered  once  a  year  into 
the  sanctuary.96  They  even  pretended  that  he  belonged  to  the 
sacerdotal  race.97  They  sustained  that  he  had  been  ordained 
by  Jesus,  bishop  of  the  holy  city,  —  that  Jesus  had  entrusted 
to  him  his  own  episcopal  throne.98  The  Jewish-Christians 
made  a  large  portion  of  the  people  of  Jerusalem  believe  that 
it  was  the  merits  of  this  servant  of  God  which  averted  the 
thunderbolt  ready  to  burst  upon  the  people.99  They  went  so 
far  as  to  create  for  him,  as  for  Jesus,  a  legend  founded  upon 
passages  from  the  Scriptures,  in  which  it  was  pretended  that 
the  prophets  had  spoken  of  him  figuratively.100 

The  image  of  Jesus,  in  this  Christian  family,  was  diminishing 
every  day,  while  in  the  churches  of  Paul  it  assumed  more  and 
more  colossal  proportions.  The  Christians  of  James  were 
simply  pious  Jews  (hasidim\  believing  in  the  Jewish  mission 
of  Christ :  the  Christians  of  Paul  were  Christians  in  the  sense 
which  has  since  prevailed.  Law,  temple,  sacrifices,  high  priest, 
blade  of  gold,  —  all  has  become  indifferent  to  them.  Jesus  has 
replaced  all,  abolished  all.  To  attach  a  sacred  value  to  whatever 
it  may  be,  is  to  do  violence  to  the  merits  of  Jesus.  It  was 
natural  for  Paul,  who  had  not  seen  Jesus,  that  the  entirely 
human  figure  of  the  Galilean  master  should  transform  itself 
into  a  metaphysical  type,  much  more  easily  than  for  Peter, 
and  the  others  who  had  conversed  with  Jesus.  Jesus,  in  Paul's 
mind,  is  not  a  man  who  has  lived  and  taught :  he  is  the  Christ 
who  died  for  our  sins,  who  saves  us,  who  justifies101  us.  He 
is  an  entirely  divine  being ;  we  partake  of  him  ; 102  we  communi- 
cate with  him  in  a  wonderful  manner.103  He  is  the  redemption, 


SAINT  PAUL.  191 

the  justification,  the  wisdom,  the  righteousness104  of  man.  He 
is  the  King  of  Glory.105  All  power  in  heaven  and  on  the  earth 
is  soon  to  be  delivered  up  to  him.106  He  is  only  inferior  to  God 
the  Father.107  Had  this  school  alone  transmitted  us  writings, 
we  would  not  come  into  contact  with  the  person  of  Jesus, 
and  we  might  doubt  that  he  ever  existed.  But  those  who  knew 
him,  and  who  kept  the  recollection  of  him,  wrote,  perhaps, 
already  towards  this  period,  the  first  notes  upon  which  were 
composed  those  divine  writings  (I  refer  to  the  Gospels)  which 
made  the  fortune  of  Christianity,  and  transmitted  to  us  the 
essential  traits  of  the  most  important  character  that  there  ever 
was  to  learn. 


1 92  SAINT  PAUL. 

CHAPTER  XL 

TROUBLE    IN   THE   CHURCHES   OF   GALATIA. 

THE  emissaries  of  James,  having  left  Antioch,  directed  their 
course  towards  the  churches  of  Galatia.1  The  Hierosolymites 
knew  of  the  existence  of  these  churches  a  long  time  prior  to 
this.  It  was  even  through  them  that  arose  the  first  difficulty  with 
circumcision,  and  that  the  so-called  council  of  Jerusalem  took 
place.  James  had  probably  recommended  to  his  confidants  to 
attack  this  important  point,  one  of  the  centres  of  Paul's  power. 

It  was  easy  for  them  to  succeed.  These  Galatians  were 
people  easy  to  deceive.  The  last  who  went  to  speak  to  them  in 
the  name  of  Jesus,  was  almost  sure  of  being  right.  The  Hiero- 
solymites had  soon  persuaded  a  large  number  of  them  that  they 
were  not  good  Christians.  They  repeated  to  them  unceasingly 
that  they  should  have  themselves  circumcised,  and  observe  the 
'entire  law.  With  the  childish  vanity  of  fanatical  Jews,  the  depu- 
ties represented  circumcision  as  a  corporeal  advantage.  They 
were  proud  of  it,  and  claimed  that  one  could  not  be  a  respecta- 
ble man  without  this  privilege. 

The  custom  of  ridiculing  the  heathen,  of  picturing  them  as 
inferior  and  badly  bred  people,  gave  rise  to  these  fantastic 
ideas.2  The  Hierosolymites  circulated,  at  the  same  time,  a  large 
number  of  invectives  and  calumnies  against  Paul.  They  ac- 
cused him  of  assuming  the  attitude  of  an  independent  apostle, 
while  he  had  received  his  mission  from  Jerusalem,  where  they 
had  seen  him  at  different  times,  as  a  disciple  in  the  school  of  the 
twelve.  To  go  to  Jerusalem,  —  was  not  that  to  recognize  the 
superiority  of  the  apostolic  college?  What  he  knew,  he  had 
learned  from  the  apostles.  He  had  accepted  the  rules  which  they 
had  established.  This  missionary,  who  pretended  to  excuse 
them  from  circumcision,  knew  very  well  how  to  preach  and  to 


SAINT  PAUL.  193 

practise  it,  in  time  of  need.  Turning  against  him  his  own 
concessions,  they  quoted  cases  in  which  he  had  been  seen  to 
recognize  the  necessity  of  Jewish  practices.3  Probably  they 
related,  in  particular,  the  facts  in  connection  with  the  circum- 
cision of  Titus  and  Timothy.  How  did  he,  who  had  not  seen 
Jesus,  dare  to  speak  in  the  name  of  Jesus  ?  It  was  Peter  and 
James  who  should  be  considered  as  the  two  apostles,  —  as  the 
depositaries  of  revelation. 

The  consciences  of  the  good  Galatians  were  much  troubled. 
Some  of  them  abandoned  the  doctrine  of  Paul,  went  over  to 
new  teachers,  and  had  themselves  circumcised ;  others  remained 
faithful  to  their  first  master.  The  trouble,  at  any  rate,  was  very 
great.  They  said  the  severest  things  to  each  other.4  This  news, 
upon  reaching  Paul,  filled  him  with  indignation. 

The  jealousy  which  constituted  the  basis  of  his  character,  his 
susceptibility,  already  often  put  to  the  test,  were  excited  to  the 
highest  degree.  It  was -the  third  time  that  the  Pharisean  party 
of  Jerusalem  had  undertaken  to  demolish  his  work  in  measure, 
as  he  built  it  up.  The  sort  of  cowardice  that  there  was  in  attack- 
ing weak,  docile,  and  defenceless  persons,  and  those  who  only 
live  upon  the  confidence  of  their  master,  was  revolting  to  him ; 
he  could  stand  it  no  longer.  Upon  the  spur  of  the  moment, 
the  bold  and  vehement  apostle  dictated  this  admirable  epistle, 
which  may  be  compared,  with  the  exception  of  the  art  of  writing, 
to  the  most  beautiful  classic  works,  and  in  which  his  impetuous 
nature  is  painted  in  letters  of  fire.  The  title  of  "  apostle,"  which 
he  had  but  timidly  assumed  up  to  this  moment,  he  now  takes  as 
a  sort  of  challenge,  in  order  to  reply  to  the  denials  of  his  adver- 
saries, and  to  maintain  what  he  believes  to  be  the  truth. 

"Paul,  an  apostle  (not  of  men,  neither  by  man,  but  by  Jesus 
f Christ,  and  God  the  Father,  who  raised  him  from  the  dead); 

"And  all  the  brethren  which  are  with  me,  unto  the  churches  of 
Galatia : 

"  Grace  be  to  you,  and  peace,  from  God  the  Father,  and  from 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
17 


194  SAINT  PAUL. 

"  Who  gave  himself  for  our  sins,  that  he  might  deliver  us  from 
this  present  evil  world,  according  to  the  will  of  God  and  our 
Father : 

"  To  whom  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen. 

"  I  marvel  that  ye  are  so  soon  removed  from  him  that  called 
you  into  the  grace  of  Christ  unto  another  gospel : 

"  Which  is  not  another ;  but  there  be  some  that  trouble  you, 
and  would  pervert  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

"But  though  we,  or  an  angel  from  heaven,  preach  any  other 
gospel  unto  you  than  that  which  we  have  preached  unto  you, 
let  him  be  accursed. 

"  As  we  said  before,  so  say  I  now  again,  If  any  man  preach  any 
other  gospel  unto  you  than  that  ye  have  received,  let  him  be 
accursed. 

"Fordo  I  now  persuade  men,  or  God?  or  do  I  seek  to  please 
men  ?  for  if  I  yet  pleased  men,  I  should  not  be  the  servant  of 
Christ. 

"  But  I  certify  you,  brethren,  that  the  gospel  which  was  preached 
of  me  is  not  after  man. 

"  For  I  neither  received  it  of  man,  neither  was  I  taught  it,  but 
by  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ. 

"For  ye  have  heard  of  my  conversation  in  time  past  in  the 
Jews'  religion,  how  that  beyond  measure  I  persecuted  the  church 
of  God,  and  wasted  it : 

"And  profited  in  the  Jews'  religion  above  many  my  equals  in 
mine  own  nation,  being  more  exceedingly  zealous  of  the  tradi- 
tions of  my  fathers. 

"  But  when  it  pleased  God,  who  separated  me  from  my  mother's 
womb,  and  called  me  by  his  grace, 

"To  reveal  his  Son  in  me,  that  I  might  preach  him  among  the 
Jbeathen ;  immediately  I  conferred  not  with  flesh  and  blood  : 5 

"  Neither  went  I  up  to  Jerusalem  to  them  which  were  apostles 
before  me ;  but  I  went  into  Arabia,  and  returned  again  unto 
Damascus. 


SAINT  PAUL.  195 

"Then  after  three  years  I  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to  see  Peter, 
and  abode  with  him  fifteen  days. 

"But  other  of  the  apostles  saw  I  none,  save  James  the  Lord's 
brother. 

"Now  the  things  which  I  write  unto  you,  behold,  before  God 
I  lie  not. 

"Afterwards  I  came  into  the  regions  of  Syria  and  Cilicia; 

"And  was  unknown  by  face  unto  the  churches  of  Judea  which 
were  in  Christ  : 

"But  they  had  heard  only,  That  he  which  persecuted  us  in 
times  past  now  preacheth  the  faith  which  once  he  destroyed. 

"And  they  glorified  God  in  me. 

"  Then  fourteen  years  after  I  went  up  again  to  Jerusalem  with 
Barnabas,  and  took  Titus  with  me  also. 

"And  I  went  up  by  revelation,  and  communicated  unto  them 
that  gospel  which  I  preach  among  the  Gentiles,  but  privately  to 
them  which  were  of  reputation,  lest  by  any  means  I  should  run, 
or  had  run,  in  vain. 

"But  neither  Titus,  who  was  with  me,  being  a  Greek,  was 
compelled  to  be  circumcised  : 

"And  that  because  of  false  brethren  unawares  brought  in,  who 
came  in  privily  to  spy  out  our  liberty  which  we  have  in  Christ 
Jesus,  that  they  might  bring  us  into  bondage  : 

"To  whom  we  gave  place  by  subjection,  no,  not  for  an  hour; 
that  the  truth  of  the  gospel  might  continue  with  you. 

"But  of  those  who  seemed  to  be  somewhat,  whatsoever  they 
were,  it  maketh  no  matter  to  me  :  God  accepteth  no  man's 
person  :  for  they  who  seemed  to  be  somewhat  in  conference 
added  nothing  to  me  : 

"But  contrariwise,  when  they  saw  that  the  gospel  of  the  un- 
circumcision  was  committed  unto  me,  as  the  gospel  of  the 
circumcision  was  unto  Peter  ; 

"(For  he  that  wrought  effectually  in  Peter  to  the  apostleship 
of  the  circumcision,  the  same  was  mighty  in  me  toward  the 
Gentiles ;) 


196  SAINT  PAUL. 

"And  when  James,  Cephas,  and  John,  who  seemed  to  be 
pillars,  perceived  the  grace  that  was  given  unto  me,  they  gave 
to  me  and  Barnabas  the  right  hands  of  fellowship;  that  we 
should  go  unto  the  heathen,  and  they  unto  the  circumcision. 

"  Only  they  would  that  we  should  remember  the  poor ;  the 
same  which  I  also  was  forward  to  do. 

"But  when  Peter  was  come  to  Antioch,  I  withstood  him  to 
the  face,  because  he  was  to  be  blamed. 

"  For  before  that  certain  came  from  James,  he  did  eat  with  the 
Gentiles  :  but  when  they  were  come,  he  withdrew  and  separated 
himself,  fearing  them  which  were  of  the  circumcision. 

"And  the  other  Jews  dissembled  likewise  with  him ;  insomuch 
that  Barnabas  also  was  carried  away  with  their  dissimulation. 

"But  when  I  saw  that  they  walked  not  uprightly  according  to 
the  truth  of  the  gospel,  I  said  unto  Peter  before  them  all,  If 
thou,  being  a  Jew,  livest  after  the  manner  of  Gentiles,  and  not 
as  do  the  Jews,  why  compellest  thou  the  Gentiles  to  live  as  do 
the  Jews  ? 

"We  who  are  Jews  by  nature,  and  not  sinners  of  the  Gentiles, 

"Knowing  that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law, 
but  by  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  even  we  have  believed  in  Jesus 
Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  not 
by  the  works  of  the  law :  for  by  the  works  of  the  law  shall  no 
flesh  be  justified. 

"But  if,  while  we  seek  to  be  justified  by  Christ,  we  ourselves 
also  are  found  sinners,  is  therefore  Christ  the  minister  of  sin  ? 
God  forbid. 

"  For  if  I  build  again  the  things  which  I  destroyed,  I  make 
myself  a  transgressor. 

"  For  I  through  the  law  am  dead  to  the  law,  that  I  might  live 
unto  God. 

"I  am  crucified  with  Christ:  nevertheless  I  live;  yet  not  I, 
but  Christ  liveth  in  me :  and  the  life  which  I  now  live  in  the 
flesh  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me,  and 
gave  himself  for  me. 


SAINT  PAUL.  197 

"I  do  not  frustrate  the  grace  of  God  :  for  if  righteousness  come 
by  the  law,  then  Christ  is  dead  in  vain. 

"  O  foolish  Galatians,  who  hath  bewitched  you,  that  ye  should 
not  obey  the  truth,  before  whose  eyes  Jesus  Christ  hath  been 
evidently  set  forth,  crucified  among  you  ? 

"This  only  would  I  learn  of  you,  Received  ye  the  Spirit  by  the 
works  of  the  law,  or  by  the  hearing  of  faith  ? 

"Are  ye  so  foolish?  having  begun  in  the  Spirit,  are  ye  now 
made  perfect  by  the  flesh  ? 

"Have  ye  suffered  so  many  things  in  vain?  if  it  be  yet  in 
vain. 

"He  therefore  that  ministereth  to  you  the  Spirit,  and  worketh 
miracles  among  you,  doeth  he  it  by  the  works  of  the  law,  or  by 
the  hearing  of  faith  ? 

"Even  as  Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  accounted  to 
him  for  righteousness.6 

"  Know  ye  therefore  that  they  which  are  of  faith,  the  same  are 
the  children  of  Abraham 

"But  before  faith  came,  we  were  kept  under  the  law,  shut  up 
unto  the  faith  which  should  afterwards  be  revealed. 

"Wherefore  the  law  was  our  schoolmaster  to  bring  us  unto 
Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  faith. 

"But  after  that  faith  is  come,  we  are  no  longer  under  a  school- 
master. 

"For  ye  are  all  the  children  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus. 

"  For  as  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ  have 
put  on  Christ.7 

"There  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  there  is  neither  bond  nor 
free,  there  is  neither  male  nor  female :  for  ye  are  all  one  in 
Christ  Jesus. 

"And  if  ye  be  Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs 
according  to  the  promise. 

"  Now  I  say,  That  the  heir,  as  long  as  he  is  a  child,  differeth 
nothing  from  a  servant,  though  he  be  lord  of  all ; 


198  SAINT  PAUL. 

"But  is  under  tutors  and  governors  until  the  time  appointed 
of  the  father. 

"Even  so  we,  when  we  were  children,  were  in  bondage  under 
the  elements  of  the  world : 

"But  when  the  fulness  of  the  time  was  come,  God  sent  forth 
his  Son,  made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law, 

"To  redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law,  that  we  might 
receive  the  adoption  of  sons. 

"And  because  ye  are  sons,  God  hath  sent  forth  the  Spirit  of 
his  Son  into  your  hearts,  crying,  Abba,  Father. 

"Wherefore  thou  art  no  more  a  servant,  but  a  son ;  and  if  a 
son,  then  an  heir  of  God  through  Christ. 

"Howbeit  then,  when  ye  knew  not- God,  ye  did  service  unto 
them  which  by  nature  are  no  gods. 

"But  now,  after  that  ye  have  known  God,  or  rather  are  known 
of  God,  how  turn  ye  again  to  the  weak  and  beggarly  elements, 
whereunto  ye  desire  again  to  be  in  bondage  ? 

"Ye  observe  days,  and  months,  and  times,  and  years. 

"  I  am  afraid  of  you,  lest  I  have  bestowed  upon  you  labor  in 
vain. 

"  Brethren,  I  beseech  you,  be  as  I  am ;  for  I  am  as  ye  are  :  ye 
have  not  injured  me  at  all. 

"Ye  know  how  through  infirmity  of  the  flesh  I  preached  the 
gospel  unto  you  at  the  first. 

"And  my  temptation  which  was  in  my  flesh  ye  despised  not, 
nor  rejected;  but  received  me  as  an  angel  of  God,  even  as 
Christ  Jesus. 

"Where  is  then  the  blessedness  ye  spake  of?  for  I  bear  you 
record,  that,  if  it  had  been  possible,  ye  would  have  plucked  out 
your  own  eyes,  and  have  given  them  to  me. 

"Am  I  therefore  become  your  enemy,  because  I  tell  you  the 
truth  ? 

"They  zealously  affect  you,  but  not  well;  yea,  they  would 
exclude  you,  that  ye  might  affect  them. 


SAINT  PAUL.  199 

"  But  it  is  good  to  be  zealously  affected  always  in  a  good  thing 
and  not  only  when  I  am  present  with  you. 

"My  little  children,  of  whom  I  travail  in  birth  again  until 
Christ  be  formed  in  you, 

"I  desire  to  be  present  with  you  now,  and  to  change  my  voice ; 
for  I  stand  in  doubt  of  you.  ...  i 

"Stand  fast  therefore  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  hath  made 
us  free,  and  be  not  entangled  again  with  the  yoke  of  bondage. 

"Behold,  I  Paul  say  unto  you,  that  if  ye  be  circumcised, 
Christ  shall  profit  you  nothing. 

"  For  I  testify  again  to  every  man  that  is  circumcised,  that  he 
is  a  debtor  to  do  the  whole  law. 

"Christ  is  become  of  no  effect  unto  you,  whosoever  of  you  are 
justified  by  the  law ;  ye  are  fallen  from  grace. 

"  For  we  through  the  Spirit  wait  for  the  hope  of  righteousness 
by  faith. 

"For  in  Jesus  Christ  neither  circumcision  availeth  any  thing, 
nor  uncircumcision ;  but  faith  which  worketh  by  love. 

"Ye  did  run  well ;  who  did  hinder  you  that  ye  should  not  obey 
the  truth  ? 

"  This  persuasion  cometh  not  of  him  that  calleth  you. 

"A  little  leaven  leaveneth  the  whole  lump.8 

"  I  have  confidence  in  you  through  the  Lord,  that  ye  will  be 
none  otherwise  minded :  but  he  that  troubleth  you  shall  bear 
his  judgment,  whosoever  he  be. 

"And  I  brethren,  if  I  yet  preach  circumcision,9  why  do  I  yet 
surfer  persecution  ?  'then  is  the  offence  of  the  cross  ceased. 

"I  would  they  were  even  cut  off  which  trouble  you.10 

"  For,  brethren,  ye  have  been  called  unto  liberty ;  only  use 
not'  liberty  for  an  occasion  to  the  flesh,  but  by  love  serve  one 
another. 

"  For  all  the  law  is  fulfilled  in  one  word,  even  in  this ;  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself. 

"But  if  ye  bite  and  devour  one  another,  take  heed  that  ye  be 
not  consumed  one  of  another. 


200  SAINT  PAUL. 

"  This  I  say  then,  Walk  in  the  Spirit,  and  ye  shall  not  fulfil  the 
lust  of  the  flesh. 

"For  the  flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  against 
the  flesh  :  and  these  are  contrary  the  one  to  the  other ;  so  that 
ye  cannot  do  the  things  that  ye  would. 

"  But  if  ye  be  led  of  the  Spirit,  ye  are  not  under  the  law. 

"  Now  the  works  of  the  flesh  are  manifest,  which  are  these, 
Adultery,  fornication,  uncleanness,  lasciviousness, 

"  Idolatry,  witchcraft,  hatred,  variance,  emulations,  wrath,  strife, 
seditions,  heresies, 

"  Envyings,  murders,  drunkenness,  revellings,  and  such  like  : 
of  the  which  1  tell  you  before,  as  I  have  also  told  you  in  time 
past,  that  they  which  do  such  things  shall  not  inherit  the  king- 
dom of  God. 

"But  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace;  longsuffering, 
gentleness,  goodness,  faith, 

"Meekness,  temperance  :  against  such  there  is  no  law. 

"And  they  that  are  Christ's  have  crucified  the  flesh  with  the 
affections  and  lusts." 

Paul  dictated  this  entire  epistle  with  one  stroke,  as  if  filled 
with  inward  fire.  According  to  his  custom,  he  wrote  with  his 
own  hand,  as  postscript,  — 

"Note  well  these  characters:™  they  are  from  my  hand" 

It  appears  natural  that  he  should  conclude  with  the  customary 
salutation,  but  he  was  too  much  aroused.  His  constant  idea 
beset  him.  The  subject  exhausted,  he  returns  to  it  again,  with 
several  energetic  touches  :  — 

"As  many  as  desire  to  make  a  fair  shew  in  the  flesh,™  they 
constrain  you  to  be  circumcised ;  only  lest  they  should  suffer 
persecution  for  the  cross  of  Christ.  For  neither  they  themselves 
who  are  circumcised  keep  the  law ;  but  desire  to  have  you  cir- 
cumcised, that  they  may  glory  in  your  flesh.™  But  God  forbid 
that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
by  whom  the  world  is  crucified  unto  me,  and  I  unto  the  world. 
For  in  Christ  Jesus  neither  circumcision  availeth  any  thing,  nor 


SATNT  PAUL.  201 

uncircumcision,  but  a  new  creature."  And  as  many  as  walk 
according  to  this  rule,  peace  be  on  them,  and  mercy,  and  upon  the 
Jsrael  of  God."  From  henceforth  let  no  man  trouble  me:  for  I 
bear  in  my  body  tJic  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus.™  Brethren,  the 
grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  your  spirit.  Amen." 

Paul  dispatched  the  letter  immediately.  If  he  had  taken  an 
hour  to  reflect,  we  may  doubt  whether  he  would  have  allowed  it 
to  go.  We  are  in  ignorance  as  to  whom  it  was  entrusted.  Paul, 
doubtless,  had  it  carried  by  one  of  his  disciples,  whom  he  com- 
missioned with  a  tour  in  Galatia.  The  epistle,  in  fact,  is  not 
addressed  to  any  particular  community.17  None  of  the  little 
churches  of  Derbe,  Lystra,  Iconium,  or  Antioch  of  Pisidia  was 
large  enough  to  serve  as  metropolis  to  the  others.  The  apostle, 
on  the  other  hand,  does  not  give  to  the  intended  recipients  any 
instruction  as  to  the  manner  of  circulating  this  letter.18  We  are 
also  ignorant  of  the  effect  which  the  letter  produced  upon  the 
Galatians.  Doubtless  it  strengthened  the  party  of  Paul.19  It  is 
probable,  however,  that  it  did  not  entirely  destroy  the  opposite 
party.  Henceforth  almost  all  the  churches  will  be  divided 
into  two  camps.  Until  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  (year  70), 
the  church  of  Judea  will  maintain  her  pretensions.  It  is  not 
until  the  end  of  the  first  century  that  a  real  reconciliation  will 
take  place,  a  little  at  the  expense  of  Paul's  glory,  which  for 
nearly  two  hundred  years  will  be  wrapped  in  shadows,  but  with 
the  full  triumph  of  his  fundamental  ideas.  From  that  moment 
the  Jewish-Christians  will  be  no  more  than  an  old  and  obstinate 
sect,  expiring  slowly  and  obscurely,  and  not  meeting  with  its  end 
until  towards  the  fifth  century,20  in  the  abandoned  cantons  of 
Syria.  Paul,  in  return,  will  be  almost  disowned.  His  title  of 
apostle,  denied  by  his  enemies,21  will  be  feebly  defended  by  his 
friends.22  The  churches  which  are  notoriously  indebted  to  him 
for  their  establishment,  will  claim  to  have  been  founded  by  him 
and  by  Peter.  The  church  of  Corinth,  for  instance,  will  do  the 
most  flagrant  violence  to  history,  in  order  to  show  that  she  owed 
her  origin  to  Peter,  and  to  Paul,  at  the  same  time.23  The  con- 


202  SAINT  PAUL. 

version  of  the  Gentiles  will  pass  for  the  collective  work  of  the 
twelve.24  Papias,  Polycrates,  Justin,  and  Hegesippus  will  appear 
to  designedly  suppress  the  role  of  Paul,  and  almost  ignore  his 
existence.  It  is  only  when  the  idea  of  a  canon  of  new  sacred 
writings  shall  have  been  established  that  Paul  will  re-assume  his 
importance.  His  letters  then  will,  to  some  extent,  leave  the 
archives  of  the  churches,  in  order  to  become  a  basis  of  Christian 
theology,  which  they  will  renew  from  century  to  century. 

At  the  distance  at  which  we  are,  Paul's  victory  appears  to  us  to 
have  been  complete.  Paul  relates  to  us,  and  perhaps  exaggerates, 
the  wrongs  done  him.  Who  will  tell  us  of  the  wrongs  done  by 
Paul  ?  Is  not  the  base  idea  which  he  attributes  to  his  adversaries 
of  following  him  up,  in  order  to  take  away  the  affection  of  his 
disciples  from  him,  and  then  to  boast  of  the  circumcision  of 
these  simple  people  as  of  a  triumph,26  a  burlesque  ?  Is  not  the 
recital  of  his  connections  with  the  church  of  Jerusalem,  so  differ- 
ent from  that  of  the  Acts,  somewhat  arranged  for  the  purposes 
of  the  moment? 26  Is  not  the  pretension  of  having  been  an  apostle 
by  divine  right,  from  the  very  day  of  his  conversion,27  histori- 
cally inexact,  inasmuch  as  the  conviction  of  his  own  apostolate 
was  formed  in  him  slowly,  and  did  not- arrive  at  completion  until 
after  his  first  great  mission  ?  Was  Peter  really  as  reprehensible 
as  he  says  ?  Was  not  the  conduct  of  the  Galilean  apostle,  on 
the  contrary,  that  of  a  conciliating  man,  preferring  brotherhood 
to  principles,  wishing  to  satisfy  every  one,  changing  in  order  to 
avoid  outbursts,  blamed  by  all  simply  because  he  alone  was  right  ? 
We  have  no  means  of  replying  to  these  questions.  Paul  was  very 
personal.  We  are  allowed  to  imagine  that,  upon  more  than  one 
occasion,  he  attributed  to  a  private  revelation,  facts  which  he  had 
learned  from  his  elders.27 

The  epistle  to  the  Galatians  is  so  extraordinary  a  writing,  the 
apostle  paints  himself  in  it  with  so  much  naivete  and  sincerity, 
that  it  would  be  highly  unjust  to  turn  against  him  a  document 
which  does  so  much  honor  to  his  talent  and  eloquence.  The 
anxieties  of  a  contracted  orthodoxy  do  not  belong  to  us.  Let 


SAINT  PAUL.  203 

others  explain  how  one  can  be  a  saint,  and  at  the  same  time 
heap  abuse  upon  old  Cephas. 

We  do  not  lower  Paul  beneath  the  grade  of  great  men,  when 
we  show  that  he  was  at  times  hasty,  passionate,  pre-ocCupied 
with  defending  himself  and  combating  his  enemies.  In  every 
respect,  the  veritable  ancestor  of  Protestantism,  Paul,  has  the 
faults  of  a  Protestant.  There  are  many  experiences  and  time 
needed,  in  order  to  make  one  see  that  no  dogma  is  worth  the 
while  to  resist  to  one's  face,  and  to  wrong  charity.  Paul  is 
not  Jesus.  How  far  removed  are  we  from  thee,  dear  Master ! 
Where  is  thy  mildness,  thy  poetry  ?  Thou,  to  whom  a  flower  did 
bring  pleasure  and  ecstasy,  dost  thou  recognize  as  thy  disciples 
these  wranglers,  these  men,  furious  over  their  prerogatives,  and 
desiring  that  everything  should  be  held  of  them?  They  are 
men :  thou  wast  a  God.  Where  would  we  be,  wert  thou  only 
known  to  us  through  the  harsh  letters  of  him  calling  himself  thy 
apostle  ?  Happily,  the  remembrances  of  Galilee  still  live  in  a 
few  faithful  memories.  Perchance,  already,  has  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount  been  traced  upon  some  unseen  page.  That  unknown 
disciple  who  holds  this  treasure,  with  him  truly  rests  the  future. 


204  SAINT  PAUL. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THIRD    JOURNEY   OF  PAUL. ESTABLISHMENT   OF  THE    CHURCH 

OF   EPHESUS. 

LESS  great,  less  possessed  of  the  sacred  demon  which  had 
invaded  his  very  being,  Paul  would  have  become  worn  out  in 
these  sterile  disputations.  In  order  to  correspond  to  the  petty 
minds,  he  would  have  been  obliged  to  belittle  himself.  These 
miserable  disputes  would  have  absorbed  him.  Superior  in 
genius,  Paul  scorned  them.  He  pursued  a  direct  course,  and 
left  time  to  decide  between  him  and  his  enemies.  The  first  rule 
for  the  man  devoted  to  great  undertakings  is,  to  refuse  to  allow 
mediocre  men  to  turn  him  from  his  course.  Without  disputing 
with  the  delegates  from  James,  as  to  whether  he  had  done  right 
or  wrong  in  preaching  to  the  Gentiles  and  converting  them, 
Paul  only  thought  of  beginning  again,  at  the  risk  of  incurring 
new  anathemas.  After  having  passed  several  months  at  An- 
tioch,1  he  set  out  on  a  third  mission.  He  was  desirous  of 
visiting  his  dear  churches  of  Galatia.  At  times,  he  entered 
upon  the  subject  of  these  churches  in  great  perplexity.  He 
regretted  having  grieved  them  by  his  severe  language.  He 
wished  to  change  his  style,  and  overcome  the  harshness  of  his 
letter2  by  the  mildness  of  his  speech.  Paul  desired, 'above  all, 
to  sojourn  at  Ephesus,  where  he  had  only  halted  the  first  time, 
in  order  to  erect  there  a  centre  of  preaching,  as  at  Thessalonica 
and  at  Corinth.  The  field  of  this  third  mission  was  thus  almost 
like  that  of  the  second.  Asia  Minor,  Macedonia,  and  Greece, 
were  the  provinces  which  Paul  had,  to  a  certain  degree,  awarded 
to  himself. 

He  set  out  from  Antioch,  probably  accompanied  by  Titus.3 
At  first  he  followed  the  same  route  as  upon  his  second  journey, 
and  visited,  for  the  third  time,4  the  churches  of  Central  Asia 


SAINT  PAUL.  205 

Minor,6  Derbe,  Lystra,  Iconium,  and  Antioch  of  Pisidia.  He 
soon  regained  his  ascendancy,  and  was  not  long  in  effacing  the 
remnants  of  the  evil  impressions  which  his  enemies  had  striven 
to  produce  against  him.  At  Derbe,  he  took  a  new  disciple, 
named  Gaius,  who  followed  him.8  These  good  Galatians  were 
very  docile,  but  weak.  Paul,  accustomed  to  express  himself  in 
a  firm  tone,  treated  them  with  a  firmness  which,  at  times,  he 
himself  feared  would  be  taken  for  harshness.7  He  hesitated. 
He  was  fearful  lest  he  had  spoken  to  his  children  in  a  manner 
which  probably  did  not  sufficiently  express  the  warm  affection 
which  he  had  for  them  in  his  heart. 

The  motives  which  had  prevented  him,  upon  his  second  jour- 
ney, from  evangelizing  proconsular  Asia  no  longer  existing, 
Paul,  after  having  concluded  his  tour  of  Galatia,  set  out  for 
Ephesus.  It  was  toward  the  middle  of  summer.8  From  An- 
tioch of  Pisidia,  the  most  natural  route  to  go  to  Ephesus  would 
take  him  to  Apamea  Kibotos,9  and  from  there  into  the  basin  of 
the  Lycus,  to  the  three  cities  in  the  neighborhood  of  each  other, 
Colossas,  Laodicea,  and  Hierapolis.  These  three  cities,  in  a 
few  years,  will  constitute  an  active  centre  of  Christian  labor, 
and  Paul  will  be  in  uninterrupted  connection  with  them.  But, 
for  the  moment,  he  did  not  stop  there,  and  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  nobody.10  Skirting  the  woods  of  Cadmus,  he  entered 
the  valley  of  the  Meander,  towards  the  inns  of  Carura,  a  great 
cross-road  of  the  highways  of  Asia.11  From  there  a  fine  and 
easy  road  took  him,  in  three  days,  by  way  of  Nysa,  Tralles,  and 
Magnesia,12  to  the  summits  of  the  chain  which  separates  the 
waters  of  the  Meander  from  those  of  the  Cayster.  A  narrow 
ravine,  for  the  possession  of  which  the  ancient  road  and  the 
torrent  were  disputing,  caused  him  to  descend  into  the  "field 
of  Asia,"  sung  by  the  Homeridae ; 13  that  is  to  say,  into  the  plain 
in  which  the  Cayster  forms  a  lagoon  before  entering  the  sea. 
It  is  a  beautiful  Greek  aspect,  with  clear  horizons,  sometimes 
formed  of  five  or  six  mountain  terraces,  or  terminated  by  trun- 
cated summits.  The  swans  and  the  beautiful  birds,  which  col- 
18 


206  SAINT  PAUL. 

lected  there,  as  in  our  day,  were  the  admiration  of  all  antiquity.14 
There,  partly  in  the  marshes,  partly  attached  to  the  slopes  of 
Mount  Corassus,  resting  elsewhere  upon  Mount  Prion,  with  its 
suburbs  upon  another  isolated  hill,15  arose  the  great  city,  des- 
tined to  be,  after  Jerusalem  and  Antioch,  the  third  capital  of 
Christianity. 

We  have  already  had  occasion  several  times  to  remark,  that 
Christianity  met  with  her  strongest  claims  to  existence  in  these 
socage  cities,  if  the  expression  may  be  allowed,  which  the 
Roman  Empire  had  multiplied, — cities  placed  outside  of  na- 
tionalities, foreign  to  the  love  of  country,  in  which  all  races  and 
all  religions  joined  hands.  Ephesus  was,  with  Alexandria,  An- 
tioch, and  Corinth,  the  type  of  cities  of  this  kind.  We  can  form 
an  idea  of  them  from  what  the  great  Levantine  cities  are  in 
our  day.  What  strikes  the  traveller,  when  he  traverses  these 
labyrinths  of  infected  bazaars,  of  narrow  and  dirty  yards,  of 
temporary  constructions,  caring  little  to  last,  is  the  complete 
lack  of  nobility,  of  political  and  even  municipal  spirit.  In 
these  swarms  of  humanity,  baseness  and  good  instincts,  slothful- 
ness  and  activity,  impertinence  and  agreeableness,  are  met  with ; 
everything  is  found  here  excepting  what  constitutes  an  old  aris- 
tocratic locality.  I  refer  to  glorious  recollections  indulged  in  in 
common.  In  addition  to  this,  there  is  a  great  deal  of  gossiping, 
loquacity,  and  levity,  almost  every  one  knowing  each  other,  and 
unceasingly  occupying  himself  with  the  others ;  something 
trifling,  impassioned,  and  uncertain ;  a  vain  curiosity  of  frivo- 
lous people,  greedy  to  feed  upon  the  slightest  novelty,  follow- 
ing the  fashion,  with  great  facility,  but  never  capable  of  setting 
it.  Christianity  was  the  fruit  of  a  sort  of  fermentation,  which  is 
accustomed  to  take  place  in  the  East  in  these  localities,  where 
man,  free  from  the  prejudices  of  birth  and  race,  more  readily 
adopts  the  views  of  that  philosophy  termed  cosmopolitan  01 
humanitarian,  than  the  peasant,  the  bourgeoise,  the  noble,  or 
feudal  citizen  can  do.  Like  the  socialism  of  our  day,  like  all 
new  ideas,  Christianity  took  its  start  in  what  is  called  the  cor- 


SAINT  PAUL.  207 

ruption  of  large  cities.  This  corruption,  in  fact,  is  frequently 
only  a  fuller  and  freer  life,  a  greater  awakening  of  the  secret 
forces  of  humanity. 

In  former  times,  as  now,  the  Jews  occupied  a  distinct  posi- 
tion in  such  mixed  cities.  This  position  was,  with  a  very  slight 
difference,  what  it  still  is  at  Smyrna  and  Salonica.  Ephesus,  in 
particular,  possessed  a  very  numerous  Jewry.16  The  heathen 
population  was  rather  fanatical,  as  is  the  case  in  all  cities  which 
are  centres  of  pilgrimage  and  famous  religions.  The  worship 
of  Diana  of  Ephesus,  spread  throughout  the  whole  world,  sup- 
ported a  number  of  considerable  industries.  Nevertheless,  the 
importance  of  the  city  as  capital  of  Asia,  the  commercial  activity, 
the  affluence  of  the  men  of  every  race,  made  Ephesus  a  point, 
in  the  main,  very  favorable  for  the  diffusion  of  Christian  ideas. 
These  ideas  met  nowhere  with  a  better  reception  than  in  the 
populous  and  commercial  cities,  —  those  filled  with  foreigners, 
and  overrun  by  Syrians,  Jews,  and  that  population  of  uncertain 
origin,  which,  since  antiquity,  has  been  mistress  of  all  the  points 
of  arrival  on  the  Mediterranean.17 

For  centuries,  Ephesus  had  not  been  a  purely  Hellenic  city. 
Formerly  Ephesus  had  shone  in  the  first  rank  among  Grecian 
cities,  at  least  in  respect  to  the  arts ;  but  at  different  periods  she 
had  allowed  the  customs  of  Asia  to  seduce  her.  This  city  had 
always  borne  a  bad  reputation  among  the  Greeks.18  The  cor- 
ruption, and  the  introduction  of  luxury  were,  according  to  the 
Greeks,  a  result  of  the  effeminate  customs  of  Ionia ;  now  they 
considered  Ephesus  the  centre  and  the  abridgment  of  Ionia.19 
The  rule  of  the  Lydians  and  that  of  the  Persians  had  here  de- 
stroyed energy  and  patriotism.  With  Sardis,  Ephesus  was  the 
most  advanced  point  of  Asiatic  influence  towards  Europe.20  The 
very  great  importance  assumed  here  by  the  worship  of  Diana 
extinguished  the  scientific  spirit,  and  encouraged  the  breaking 
out  of  all  superstitions.  It  was  almost  a  theocratic  city.21  The 
festivities  were  numerous  and  grand.22  The  privilege  of  asylum 
afforded  by  the  temple  peopled  the  city  with  malefactors.23 


208  SAINT  PAUL. 

Shameful  sacerdotal  institutions  were  maintained  there,  and 
must  have  appeared  every  day  more  devoid  of  sense.24  This 
brilliant  country  of  Heraclitus,  of  Parrhasius,  perhaps  Apelles, 
was  no  longer  anything  more  than  a  city  of  porticos,  race- 
courses, gymnasia,  theatres,  —  a  city  of  vulgar  sumptuosity,  in 
spite  of  the  masterpieces  of  painting  and  sculpture  which  it  still 
possessed. 

Although  the  port  had  been  spoiled  by  the  unskillfulness  of 
the  engineers  of  Attalus  Philadelphus,  the  city  grew  rapidly,  and 
became  the  principal  emporium  of  the  region  on  this  side  the 
Taurus.25  It  was  the  point  of  landing  for  what  arrived  from 
Italy  and  from  Greece,  —  a  sort  of  inn  or  warehouse  upon  the 
sill  of  Asia.26  Populations  from  every  quarter  were  here  heaped 
up,  and  made  a  universal  city  of  it,  in  which  socialistic  ideas 
gained  the  ground  lost  by  the  sentiments  of  fatherland.  The 
country  was  extremely  rich,  and  the  commerce  very  great ;  but 
nowhere  did  minds  manifest  such  abjectness.  The  inscriptions 
betray  the  most  shameful  servility,27  the  most  eager  submission 
to  the  Romans.28 

It  might  have  been  called  the  universal  rendezvous  of  courte- 
sans and  viveurs.  The  city  was  full  to  repletion  of  magicians, 
diviners,29  mimics  and  flute-players,30  eunuchs,31  jewellers,32  amu- 
let and  metal  merchants,33  and  romance-writers.  The  expression 
"Ephesian  novels"  indicated,  like  that  of  "Milesian  fables,"  a 
style  of  literature,  —  Ephesus  being  one  of  the  cities  in  which,  they 
preferred  to  locate  the  scenes  of  love-stories.34  The  mildness 
of  the  climate,  in  fact,  disinclined  one  to  serious  things.  Danc- 
ing and  singing  remained  the  sole  occupation.  Public  life 
degenerated  into  Bacchanalian  revels.35  Good  studies  were 
thrown  aside.36  The  most  extravagant  miracles  of  Apollonius 
are  reputed  to  have  taken  place  at  Ephesus.37  The  most  cele- 
brated Ephesian  of  the  period  now  under  consideration 38  was  an 
astrologer  named  Babillus,  who  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  Nero 
and  Vespasian,  and  who  appears  to  have  been  a  villain.39  A 
beautiful  Corinthian  temple,  the  ruins  of  which  are  still  visible 


SAINT  PAUL.  209 

to-day,40  was  erected  towards  the  same  period.  It  was  probably 
a  temple  dedicated  to  poor  Claudius,  whom  Nero  and  Agrip- 
pina  had  just  "pulled  up  to  heaven  with  a  hook,"  as  Gallic 
well  expresses  it. 

Ephesus  had  already  been  reached  by  Christianity  when  Paul 
went  to  sojourn  there.  We  have  seen  that  Aquila  and  Priscilla 
remained  there  after  having  left  Corinth.  This  pious  couple,  to 
whom,  by  a  singular  fate,  it  was  reserved  to  figure  in  the  origin 
of  the  churches  of  Rome,  Corinth,  and .  Ephesus,  formed  a 
nucleus  of  disciples.  Of  this  number,  without  doubt,  was  that 
Epinetes,  whom  St.  Paul  calls  "  the  first  fruits  of  Asia  unto 
Christ,"  and  whom  he  loved  well.41  Another  much  more  impor- 
tant conversion  was  that  of  a  Jew  named  Apollonius,  or  Apollos, 
born  in  Alexandria,  who  must  have  landed  at  Ephesus  shortly 
after  the  first  visit  of  Paul.42  He  had  acquired  a  profound  know- 
ledge of  the  Greek  version  of  the  Scriptures  in  the  Jewish  schools 
of  Egypt,  an  ingenious  manner  of  interpreting  them,  and  great 
eloquence.  He  was  a  sort  of  Philo,  in  search  of  the  new  ideas 
which  were  then  coming  to  light  on  all  sides  in  Judaism.  During 
his  travels,  he  had  been  in  connection  with  the  disciples  of  John 
the  Baptist,  and  had  received  baptism  from  them.  He  had  also 
heard  Jesus  spoken  of,  and  it  appears  that  from  that  time  he 
accorded  to  the  latter  the  title  of  Christ ;  but  his  notions  of 
Christianity  were  incomplete.  Upon  his  arrival  at  Ephesus,  he 
went  to  the  synagogue,  where  he  met  with  much  success  by 
means  of  his  animated  and  inspired  language.  Aquila  and  Pris- 
cilla heard  him,  and  were  delighted  to  receive  such  an  assistant. 
They  took  him  aside,  completed  his  doctrine,  and  gave  him 
more  precise  ideas  upon  certain  points.  As  they  were  not  very 
skillful  theologians  themselves,  they  did  not  think,  it  appears, 
of  having  him  re-baptized  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  Apollos 
formed  a  little  group  around  him,  to  which  he  taught  his  doc- 
trine, rectified  by  Aquila  and  Priscilla ;  but  upon  which  he  only 
performed  the  baptism  of  John,  the  only  one  which  he  knew. 
At  the  end  of  some  time,  he  wished  to  go  to  Achaia,  and  the 
18* 


2io  SAINT  PAUL. 

brethren  of  Ephesus  gave  him  a  very  warm  letter  of  recom- 
mendation to  those  in  Corinth. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  Paul  arrived  at  Ephe- 
sus. He  lodged  with  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  as  he  had  done  at 
Corinth,43  associated  himself  again  with  them,  and  worked  in 
their  shop.  Ephesus  was  justly  celebrated  for  its  tents.44  Arti- 
sans of  this  kind  probably  inhabited  the  poor  suburbs  which 
extended  from  Mount  Prion  to  the  steep  hill  of  A ia-Solouk.^ 
That  was  doubtless  the  first  Christian  home.  There  were  the 
apostolic  basilicas,  the  tombs  venerated  by  all  Christendom.46 
After  the  destruction  of  the  temple  of  Diana,  Ephesus  having 
exchanged  its  Pagan  celebrity  for  an  equal  Christian  celebrity, 
and  having  become  a  city  of  the  first  order  in  the  recollections 
and  legends  of  a  new  faith,  Byzantine  Ephesus 47  grouped  itself 
entirely  round  the  hill  which  had  the  advantage  of  possessing  the 
most  precious  monuments  of  Christianity.  The  old  site  having 
been  changed  into  an  infected  marsh,  so  soon  as  an  active  civi- 
lization had  ceased  to  regulate  the  course  of  the  waters,  the 
ancient  city  was  gradually  abandoned.48  Its  gigantic  monuments, 
in  consequence  of  their  proximity  to  a  navigable  canal  and  to 
the  sea,  were  worked  as  marble  quarries ;  and  in  this  manner 
the  city  was  displaced  for  more  than  a  league.  Perhaps  the 
choice  of  domicile  made  by  a  few  poor  Jews,  under  the  reign  of 
Claudius  or  Nero,  was  the  first  cause  of  this  removal.  The 
most  ancient  Turkish  conquest  continued  the  Byzantine  tradi- 
tion. A  large  Mussulman  city  succeeded  the  Christian  city,49 until 
ruin,  fever,  and  oblivion  came  to  reign  definitely  over  so  many 
recollections.50 

Here  Paul  was  not,  as  in  his  first  missions,  in  the  presence 
of  a  synagogue  ignorant  of  the  new  mystery,  of  those  whom  it 
was  expected  to  gain  over.  He  had  before  him  a  church  t 
which  had  been  formed  in  the  most  original  and  spontaneous 
manner,  by  the  assistance  of  two  simple  and  honest  Jewish 
merchants,  and  of  a  foreign  doctor,  who  was  only  as  yet  half 
Christian.  The  group  of  Apollos  was  composed  of  about  twelve 


SAINT  PAUL.  211 

members.  Paul  questioned  them,  and  perceived  that  their  faith 
was  lacking  in  several  particulars,  especially  that  they  had  not 
heard  the  Holy  Ghost  spoken  of.  Paul  completed  their  instruc- 
tion, re-baptized  them  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  laid  hands  upon 
them.  Immediately  the  spirit  descended  upon  them.  They 
began  to  speak  the  tongues,  and  to  prophesy  like  perfect 
Christians.61 

The  apostle  soon  strove  to  enlarge  this  little  circle  of  be- 
lievers. He  had  no  fear  to  find  himself  in  the  presence  of  the 
philosophical  and  scientific  spirit  which  had  suddenly  blocked 
his  progress  in  Athens.  Ephesus  was  not  a  great  intellectual 
centre.  Superstition  prevailed  there  uncontrolled.  Every  one 
lived  in  the  foolish  prejudices  of  demonology  and  theurgy.  The 
magic  formulas  of  Ephesus  (Ephesia  grammataf*  were  cele- 
brated. Books  of  sorcery  were  abundant.  A  multitude  of  peo- 
ple devoted  their  time  to  these  foolish  puerilities.53  Apollonius 
Tyana  might  have  been  at  Ephesus  about  this  period.64 

Paul,  according  to  his  custom,  preached  in  the  synagogue.55 
For  three  months,  on  every  Saturday,  did  he  not  cease  to  an- 
nounce the  kingdom  of  God.  He  had  little  success.  They  did 
not  proceed  against  him  with  disturbances  and  severities ;  but 
they  received  his  doctrine  with  insulting  and  scornful  language. 
He  then  resolved  to  renounce  the  synagogue,  and  he  re-united 
his*  disciples  by  themselves  in  a  place  called  2xoX?/  Tvpav- 
-rov.™  Probably  this  was  a  public  place,  —  one  of  those  scholcz 
or  semicircular  archways  so  numerous  in  ancient  cities,  which 
served  as  xysta  for  conversation  and  free  instruction.57  Proba- 
bly, on  the  contrary,  the  reference  here  is  made  to  the  private 
room  of  a  person,  of  a  grammarian,  for  instance,  named  Ty- 
rannus.58  Generally  speaking,  Christianity  profited  very  little 
from  the  Scheldt^  which  were  almost  always  connected  with  the 
therma  and  gymnasia.  The  favorite  place  for  Christian  propa- 
ganda, next  to  the  synagogue,  was  the  private  house,  the  fire- 
side. In  this  vast  metropolis,  the  preaching,  nevertheless,  could 
take  place  in  open  day.59  For  two  years  Paul  did  not  cease 


212  SAINT  PAUL. 

to  speak  in  the  Schola  Tyranni.  This  prolonged  instruction 
in  a  public  place,  or  one  nearly  so,  attracted  considerable  atten- 
tion. In  addition  to  this,  the  apostle  made  frequent  visits  to 
the  houses  of  those  who  were  converted  or  moved.60  His  words 
sought  equally  the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles.61  All  proconsular 
Asia  heard  the  name  of  Jesus ;  and  several  churches,  suffragans 
of  Ephesus,  were  established  round  about.  They  also  spoke  a 
great  deal  of  certain  miracles  done  by  Paul.  His  reputation  as 
thaumaturgist  reached  such  a  point  that  handkerchiefs  and 
shirts  which  had  touched  his  skin  were  eagerly  sought  for  in 
order  to  be  applied  to -the  sick.62  It  was  thought  that  medicinal 
virtue  was  exhaled  from  his  body,  and  transmitted  in  this 
manner. 

The  taste  of  the  Ephesians  for  magic  served  to  bring  about 
still  more  shocking  episodes.  Paul  was  regarded  as  possessing 
a  great  power  over  demons.  It  appears  that  the  Jewish  exorcists 
sought  to  usurp  his  charms,  and  to  exorcise  "  in  the  name  of 
the  Jesus  whom  Paul  preaches." 63  There  is  related  the  misad- 
venture of  several  of  these  charlatans,  who  pretended  to  be  sons, 
or  disciples,  of  a  certain  high  priest  Sceva.64  Having  wished  to 
drive  out  a  very  wicked  spirit,  by  means  of  the  above-mentioned 
formula,  they  heard  the  possessed  one  heap  gross  insults  upon 
them.  Not  satisfied  with  this,  he  leaped  upon  them,  tore  their 
clothes  to  pieces,  and  beat  them  unmercifully.65  The  decrease 
of  the  spirits  was  such,  that  several  Jews  and  several  Heathens 
believed  in  Jesus  through  so  poor  a  motive.  Above  all,  were 
conversions  made  among  those  occupied  by  magic.66  Struck 
with  the  superiority  of  Paul's  formulas,  the  amateurs  in  occult 
sciences  went  to  confide  their  practices  to  him.67  Several  even 
took  their  books  of  magic  and  burnt  them.68  The  price  of 
Ephesia  grammata,  burnt  in  this  manner,69  is  valued  at  50,000 
silver  drachmas. 

Let  us  turn  away  our  gaze  from  these  sad  shadows.  Every- 
thing that  is  done  by  the  ignorant  masses  of  the  people  is  soiled 
with  disagreeable  features.  Illusion  and  chimera  are  the  condi- 


SAINT  PAUL.  213 

tion  of  the  great  things  created  by  the  people.  It  is  the  work 
of  sages  alone  which  is  pure ;  but  the  sages  usually  are  power- 
less. We  have  a  physiology,  and  a  system  of  medicine,  far 
superior  to  those  of  St.  Paul.  We  are  free  from  a  multitude 
of  errors  in  which  he  indulged.  Alas !  it  is  much  to  be  feared 
that  we  will  never  do  the  thousandth  part  of  what  he  has  done. 
It  will  be  only  when  all  humanity  is  instructed  in,  and  has 
attained  to,  a  certain  degree  of  positive  philosophy,  that  human 
affairs  will  be  conducted  with  reason.  We  would  not  be  able  to 
comprehend  anything  in  the  history  of  the  past,  if  we  refuse  to 
regard  as  great  and  good,  actions  with  which  are  mingled  many 
mean  and  equivocal  features. 


214  SAINT  PAUL. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

PROGRESS    OF    CHRISTIANITY    IN   ASIA   AND   PHRYGIA. 

\ 

THE  ardor  of  Paul  during  his  sojourn  at  Ephesus  was  very 
great.1  Difficulties  occurred  every  day.  Adversaries  were  nu- 
merous and  incensed.2  As  the  church  of  Ephesus  was  not  purely 
a  creation  of  Paul's,  it  contained  among  its  members  Jewish- 
Christians,  who,  upon  certain  important  points,  energetically  re- 
sisted the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  They  were  like  two  flocks 
anathematizing  each  other,  and  denying  each  other  the  right  to 
speak  in  the  name  of  Jesus.3  The  heathen  on  their  side  were 
dissatisfied  with  the  progress  of  the  new  faith,  and  already 
symptoms  of  disturbances  were  manifesting  themselves.  Once, 
in  particular,  Paul  ran  so  imminent  a  danger  that  he  compares 
the  position  in  which  he  found  himself  that  day  to  that  of  a  man 
exposed  to  wild  beasts.4  Perhaps  this  incident  took  place  at 
the  theatre,5  which  would  render  the  expression  entirely  just. 
Aquila  and  Priscilla  saved  him,  and  risked  their  lives  for  him.6 

The  apostle  forgot  everything,  however,  for  the  word  of  God 
increased.  The  entire  western  part  of  Asia  Minor,  above  all 
the  basins  of  the  Meander  and  the  Hermus,  were  covered  with 
churches  toward  this  period ;  and  without  doubt  Paul  was,  in  a 
more  or  less  direct  manner,  their  founder.  Smyrna,  Pergamos, 
Thyatira,  Sardis,  Philadelphia,7  and  probably  Trail es,8  thus  re- 
ceived the  germs  of  the  faith.9  These  cities  already  contained 
important  Jewish  colonies.10  The  mildness  of  manners,  and  the 
long  ennuis  of  provincial  life,  in  the  bosom  of  a  beautiful  and 
rich  country,  for  centuries  deprived  of  all  political  life,  and  paci- 
fied even  to  adulation,11  had  prepared  many  souls  for  the  joys  of 
a  pure  life.  The  softness  of  Ionian  manners,  so  contrary  to  na- 
tional independence,  was  favorable  to  the  development  of  moral 
and  social  questions.  These  good  people,  without  military  spirit, 


SAINT  PAUL.  215 

— feminine,  if  I  dare  express  it  so, — were  naturally  Christians. 
Family  life  appears  to  have  been  very  strong  among  them.  The 
custom  of  living  in  the  open  air,  and  for  the  women  upon  the 
sill  of  their  door,  in  a  delightful  climate,  had  developed  a  great 
sociability.12  Asia  with  her  asiarchs,  presidents  of  her  games 
and  spectacles,13  appeared  a  company  of  pleasure,  an  association 
of  divertissements  and  festivities.1*  The  Christian  population 
still  in  our  day  is  pleasing  and  gay.  The  women  have  clear  com- 
plexions, pensive  and  mild  eyes,  beautiful  blonde  hair,  reserved 
and  modest  ways,  implying  a  full  consciousness  of  their  beauty. 

Thus  Asia  became  in  some  degree  the  second  province  of  the 
kingdom  of  God.  Cities  in  this  country,  independent  of  the 
monuments,  were  not  then  perhaps  essentially  different  from 
what  they  are  now,  —  irregular  heaps  of  wooden  houses,  with 
porticos  covered  with  inclined  roofs,  districts  most  generally 
elevated  one  above  another,  and  always  containing  beautiful 
trees.  The  public  buildings  necessary  in  a  warm  country  for  a 
life  of  pleasure  and  repose  presented  a  surprising  grandeur. 
Here  they  were  not,  as  .in  Syria,  artificial  constructions,  made 
with  very  slight  reference  to  morals,  —  colonnade  cities,  imposed 
upon  Bedouins.15  Nowhere  does  the  fulness  of  a  civilization 
satisfied  with  and  sure  of  itself,  assume  more  imposing  forms 
than  among  these  "  magnificent  cities  of  Asia."16  As  often  as 
the  beautiful  countries  of  which  we  are  speaking  are  not  crushed 
by  fanaticism,  war,  or  barbarity,  they  will  become  mistresses  of 
the  world  by  their  wealth.  They  hold  almost  all  the  sources  of 
it,  and  thus  force  the  money  of  nobler  people  to  accumulate 
among  them.17  Ionia,  in  the  first  century,  was  very  populous, 
and  covered  with  cities  and  villages.18  The  misfortunes  of  the 
period  of  civil  wars  were  forgotten.  Powerful  associations  of 
artisans  (epyaffiai,  avrepyaffiai,  ffvjjfii&fffiS),  similar  to 
those  of  Italy  and  Flanders  in  the  Middle  Ages,  appoint  their 
dignitaries,  erect  their  public  monuments,  raise  their  statues, 
construct  public  works  of  utility,  found  institutions  of  charity, 
give  all  kinds  of  signs  of  prosperity,  of  well-being,  of  moral 


216  SAINT  PAUL. 

activity.19  At  the  side  of  manufacturing  cities,  such  as  Thyatira, 
Philadelphia,  Hierapolis,  devoted  to  the  great  industries  of 
Asia,  carpets,  dyeing  of  stuffs,  woollens,  and  leather,  was  devel- 
oped a  rich  agriculture.  The  various  products  of  the  borders 
of  the  Hermus  and  Meander,  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  Tmolus 
and  Messogis,  source  of  riches  to  old  Assyrian  Lydia,  had  given 
rise,  at  Tralles  especially,  to  an  opulent  bourgeoisie,  who  were 
seen  to  contract  alliances  with  the  kings  of  Asia,  sometimes 
even  raise  themselves  to  royalty.20  These  parvenus  ennobled 
themselves  in  a  more  skillful  manner  still,  by  their  literary 
tastes  and  by  their  generosity.21  Assuredly,  we  must  not  seek 
either  delicacy  or  Hellenic  perfection  in  their  works.22  One  can 
well  imagine,  upon  seeing  such  monuments  of  wealth,  that  all 
nobility  had  been  lost  when  they  were  reared.  Municipal  spirit, 
however,  was  still  very  vigorous.  The  citizen  made  king,  or 
enjoying  the  favors  of  Caesar,  sought  for  the  offices  of  his  city, 
and  spent  his  fortune  to  beautify  it.23  This  activity  of  con- 
struction was  at  its  height  at  the  period  of  St.  Paul,24  partly 
from  the  earthquakes  which,  in  the  reign  of  Tiberias  especially, 
had  desolated  the  country,25  and  which  necessitated  many  a 
repairing. 

One  rich  canton  of  Southern  Phrygia,26  in  particular,  the  little 
basin  of  the  Lycus,27  a  branch  of  the  Meander,  witnessed  the 
formation  of  active  Christian  centres.28  Three  cities,  very  near 
to  each  other,  Colossae  or  Colassag,29  Laodicea  on  the  Lycus,  and 
Hierapolis,30  gave  life  to  them.  Colossae,  which  formerly  was 
most  important,81  appeared  to  decline.32  It  was  an  old  city  which 
had  remained  faithful  to  ancient  customs,  and  which  did  not  re- 
new itself.33  Laodicea  and  Hierapolis,  on  the  contrary,  became, 
through  the  Roman  domination,  very  important  cities.34  The 
soul  of  this  beautiful  country  is  Mount  Cadmus,35  father  of  all 
the  mountains  of  Western  Asia,  with  gigantic  woods,  full  of 
dark  precipices,  and  preserving  its  snows  all  the  year  round. 
The  waters  flowing  from  it  support  on  one  of  the  valley  slopes 
orchards  of  fruit-trees,  crossed  by  rivers  abounding  in  fish  and 


SAINT  PAUL.  217 

enlivened  by  tame  storks.  The  other  side  is  taken  up  entirely 
by  the  strongest  freaks  of  nature.  The  incrusting  property  of  the 
waters  of  one  of  the  affluents  of  the  Lycus,  and  the  enormous 
thermal  river,  which  falls  in  cascades  from  the  mountain  of 
Hierapolis,  have  sterilized  the  plain  and  formed  crevices,  strange 
caverns,  subterranean  beds  of  rivers;  fantastic  cells,  similar  to 
petrified  snow,  serving  as  reservoir  to  waters  which  reflect  all 
the  tints  of  the  rainbow;  deep  trenches,  into  which  resounding 
waters  fall  by  a  series  of  cataracts.  On  this  side  the  heat  is  ex- 
treme, the  soil  being  one  vast  plain  flagged  with  limestone ;  but 
upon  the  heights  of  Hierapolis,  the  purity  of  the  air,  the  bril- 
liant light,  the  view  of  Cadmus,  floating  like  an  Olympus  in  a 
dazzling  ether ;  the  parched  summits  of  Phrygia,  fading  away  into 
the  blue  sky,  with  a  rosy  tint ;  the  opening  of  the  valley  of  the 
Meander ;  the  oblique  profiles  of  Messogis ;  the  distant  white 
summits  of  Tmolus,  —  produce  a  veritable  fascination.  There 
St.  Philip  and  Papias  lived ;  there  Epictetes  was  born.  The  entire 
valley  of  the  Lycus  presents  the  same  character  of  dreamy 
mysticism.  The  population  was  not  of  Greek  origin  :  it  was 
partly  Phrygian.  There  was  also,  it  appears,  around  Cadmus, 
an  ancient  Semitic  establishment,  probably  an  annex  to  Lydia.86 
This  peaceful  valley,  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  be- 
came a  place  of  refuge  for  Christianity.  Christian  sentiment, 
as  we  shall  see,  was  there  submitted  to  grave  trials. 

The  evangelist  of  these  regions  was  Epaphroditus,  or  Epa- 
phras  of  Colossae,  a  very  zealous  man,  a  friend  and  collabora- 
tor of  Paul."  The  apostle  had  only  passed  through  the  valley 
of  Lycus.  He  never  returned  there  ; 38  but  these  churches,  com- 
posed especially  of  converted  heathen,  were  not  the  less  com- 
pletely under  his  control.39  Epaphras  exercised  a  sort  of  epis- 
copate over  the  three  cities.40  Nymphodorus,  or  Nymphas,  who 
at  Laodicea  assembled  a  church  in  his  house  ;41  the  rich  and 
beneficent  Philemon,  who  at  Colossae  presided  over  a  similar 
conventicle ; 42  Appia,  deaconess  of  this  city,43  probably  wife  of 
Philemon; 44  and  Archippus,  who  here  filled  an  important  posi- 
'9 


218  SAINT  PAUL. 

tion,45  recognized  Paul  as  chief.  The  last  of  these  appears 
even  to  have  worked  directly  with  Paul.  The  apostle  calls  him 
his  "  fellow-soldier." 46  Philemon,  Appia,  and  Archippus  must 
have  been  related,  or  connected  very  intimately.47 

Paul's  disciples  travelled  unceasingly,  and  reported  everything 
to  their  master.  Each  faithful  one,  when  scarcely  instructed,  be- 
came a  zealous  catechist,  spreading  about  him  the  faith  with 
which  he  was  filled.  The  delicate  moral  aspirations  which 
prevailed  in  the  country  spread  the  movement  like  a  train  of 
powder.  The  catechists  went  everywhere.  As  soon  as  received, 
they  were  kept  as  treasures.  Every  one  waseager  to  provide  for 
them.48  A  cordiality,  a  joy,  a  boundless  good-will,  gained  one 
after  another,  and  melted  every  heart.  Judaism,  however,  pre- 
ceded Christianity  in  these  regions.  Jewish  colonies  had  been 
led  there  from  Babylon  two  centuries  and  a  half  before,  and 
had  probably  introduced  some  of  those  industries  (the  manu- 
facture of  carpets  for  instance),  which,  under  the  Roman  Em- 
perors, produced  so  much  wealth,  and  such  influential  associa- 
tions in  the  country.49 

Did  the  preaching  of  Paul  and  his  disciples  reach  Great 
Phrygia,  the  region  of  ^Ezanes,  of  Synnada,  of  Cotia,  and  Do- 
cimia?  We  have  seen  that  in  his  first  journeys  Paul  preached 
in  Parorean  Phrygia;  that  in  the  second  journey  he  crossed 
Phrygia  Epictetes ;  and  that  in  his  third  journey  he  crossed 
Apamia,  Kibotus,  and  Phrygia,  called  later  Pacatianus. 

It  is  extremely  probable  that  the  rest  of  Phrygia,  and  that 
also  Bithynia,  were  indebted  to  the  disciples  of  Paul  for  the  seeds 
of  Christianity.  Towards  the  year  ii2,50  Christianity  appears 
in  Bithynia,  as  a  deep-seated  religion  which  had  penetrated  all 
ranks  of  society,  which  had  invaded  the  towns  and  country  dis- 
tricts as  well  as  the  cities,  and  brought  about  a  long  cessation 
of  the  official  religion,  so  that  the  Roman  authority  is  led  to  re- 
joice at  seeing  the  sacrifices  recommence,  a  few  faithful  ones 
return  to  the  temples,  and  the  victims  find,  here  and  there, 
purchasers.  Towards  the  year  112,  people  questioned  as  to 


SAINT  PAUL.  219 

whether  they  are  Christians,  reply  that  they  have  been,  but 
that  they  had  ceased  to  be  "for  more  than  twenty  years."61 
Assuredly  this  leads  us  to  suppose  that  the  first  Christian 
preaching  took  place  in  this  quarter,  while  Paul  was  yet  alive. 

From  then,  Phrygia  was  the  essentially  Christian  country,  and 
remained  so  three  hundred  years.  There  began  the  public  pro- 
fession of  Christianity ;  there  is  found  from  the  beginning  of  the 
third  century,  upon  monuments  exposed  to  the  gaze  of  all,  the 
\rordXPH2TIAN02,  or  XPI2TIAN02 -,1*  there  the  grave- 
stone inscriptions,  before  becoming  open  professions  of  Chris- 
tianity, contain  the  disguised  expression  of  Christian  dogmas ; " 
there,  from  the  time  of  Septimus  Severus,  large  cities  adopted 
biblical  symbols  for  their  coins,  or  rather,  made  their  old  tradi- 
tions conform  to  biblical  narratives.64  A  large  number  of  the 
Christians  from  Ephesus  and  Rome  came  from  Phrygia.  The 
names  which  occur  most  frequently  on  the  monuments  of  Phry- 
gia are  the  old  Christian  names,  especial  names  of  the  apostolic 
age,  those  which  fill  the  martyrologies. B5  It  is  very  probable 
that  this  early  adoption  of  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  resulted  from 
the  race,  and  from  the  anterior  religious  institutions  of  the 
Phrygian  people."  Apollonius  of  Tyana  had,  it  is  said,  tem- 
ples among  the  ingenuous  inhabitants.  The  idea  of  gods 
clothed  in  human  form  appeared  quite  natural  to  them.  What 
remains  to  us  of  old  Phrygia  frequently  breathes  out  something 
religious,  moral,  profound,  analogous  to  Christianity.67  Honest 
laborers  near  Cotia  make  a  vow  "  to  the  holy  and  just  gods." 6* 
Not  far  from  there  another  vow  is  addressed  "  to  the  holy  and 
just  God."  6  Such  an  epitaph  in  verses  of  this  province,  in  no 
wise  a  classic  production,  incorrect  and  weak  in  form,  appears 
impressed  with  entirely  modern  sentiment,  with  a  sort  of  touch- 
ing romanticism."0  The  country  itself  differs  much  from  the 
rest  of  Asia.  It  is  sad,  severe,  gloomy,  bearing  the  deep  im- 
press of  old  geological  catastrophes;  burnt,  or  rather 'incine- 
rated, or  disturbed  by  the  frequent  earthquakes.61 

Pontus,  in  Cappadocia,  heard  the  name  of  Jesus  about  the 
same  time.63  Christianity  burst  forth  like  a  sudden  conflagra- 


220  SAINT  PAUL. 

tion  throughout  all  Asia  Minor.  It  is  probable  that  the  Jewish- 
Christians  labored  on  their  side  to  spread  the  Gospel  there. 
John,  who  belonged  to  this  party,63  was  received  in  Asia  as  an 
apostle  of  superior  authority  to  Paul.  The  Apocalypse,  ad- 
dressed in  the  year  68  to  the  churches  of  Ephesus,  Smyrna, 
Pergamos,  Thyatira,  Sardis,  Philadelphia,  and  Laodicea  on  the 
Lycus,  appears  composed  for  the  Jewish-Christians.  Without 
doubt,  between  the  death  of  Paul  and  the  editing  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse, there  was  at  Ephesus  and  in  Asia,  as  it  were,  a  second 
Jewish-Christian  preaching.  Nevertheless,  if  Paul  had  been 
for  ten  years  the  sole  chief  of  the  churches  of  Asia,  we  cannot 
understand  how  he  should  have  been  forgotten  there  so  soon. 
St.  Philip64  and  Papias,65  glories  of  the  church  of  Hierapolis, 
Melito,66  glory  of  that  of  Sardis,  were  Jewish-Christians.  Neither 
Papias  nor  Polycrates  of  Ephesus  quotes  Paul.  The  authority 
of  John  has  absorbed  everything,  and  John  is  to  these  churches 
a  Jewish  chief  priest.  The  churches  of  Asia  in  the  second  cen- 
tury, the  church  of  Laodicea  especially,  are  the  scene  of  a  con- 
troversy which  attaches  itself  to  the  vital  question  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  in  which  the  traditional  party  shows  itself  not  at  all 
in  harmony  with  the  ideas  of  Paul.67  Montanism  is  a  sort  of 
return  to  Judaism,  in  the  bosom  of  Phrygian  Christianity.  In 
other  words,  in  Asia,  as  at  Corinth,68  the  memory  of  Paul  after 
his  death  appears  to  have  undergone  a  sort  of  -eclipse  during  a 
whole  century.  Even  the  churches  which  he  had  established 
abandon  him  as  too  compromising  a  man ;  so  much  so,  that 
Paul,  in  the  second  century,  appears  universally  disowned.69 

This  reaction  must  have  taken  place  a  short  time  after  the 
death  of  the  apostle,  or  perhaps  even  before.  The  second  and 
third  chapters  of  the  Apocalypse  are  a  cry  of  hatred  against 
Paul  and  his  friends.  This  church  of  Ephesus,  which  owes  so 
much  to  Paul,  is  praised  for  "  not  being  able  to  bear  with  them 
which  are  evil ;  for  having  tried  them,  which  say  they  are  apostles 
and  are  not;70  for  having  found  them  liars ;  for  hating  the  deeds 
of  the  Nicolaitanes," 71  "which  I  also  hate,"  adds  the  celestial 
voice.72  The  church  of  Smyrna  is  congratulated  for  "being 


SAINT  PAUL.  221 

• 

the  blasphemy  of  them  which  say  they  are  Jews,  and  are  not,71 
but  are  the  synagogue  of  Satan." 74  "  But  I  have  a  few  things 
against  thee,"  says  the  divine  voice  to  the  church  of  Per- 
gamos,  "  because  thou  hast  there  them  that  hold  the  doctrine 
of  Balaam,  who  taught  Balac  to  cast  a  stumbling-block  before 
the  children  of  Israel,  to  eat  things  sacrificed  unto  idols,  and  to 
commit,  fornication.76  So  hast  thou  also  them  that  hold  the 
doctrine  of  Nicolaitanes." 76  "  I  have  a  few  things  against 
thee,"  says  the  same  voice  to  the  church  of  Thyatira,  "because 
thou  sufferest  that  woman  Jezebel,77  which  calleth  herself  a 
prophetess,  to  teach  and  seduce  my  servants,  to  commit  forni- 
cation, and  to  eat  things  sacrificed  unto  idols.  And  I  gave  her 
space  to  repent  of  her  fornication,  and  she  repented  not.  .  .  . 
As  to  the  rest  in  Thyatira,  as  many  as  have  not  this  doc- 
trine, and  which  have  not  known  the  depths  of  Satan  as 
they  speak,78  I  will  put  upon  you  none  other  burthen." 79  And 
to  the  church  of  Philadelphia,  "  I  will  make  them  of  the  syna- 
gogue of  Satan,  which  say  they  are  Jews  and  are  not,  but  do 
lie,  to  come  and  worship  before  thy  feet,  and  to  know  that  I 
have  loved  thee." 80  Probably  the  vague  reproaches  addressed 
by  the  seer  to  the  churches  of  Sardis  and  Laodicea81  also  con- 
tain allusions  to  the  great  discussion  which  was  dismembering 
the  church  of  Jesus. 

Still,  let  us  say  that  if  Paul  had  been  the  sole  missionary  of 
Asia,  we  could  not  conceive  how,  in  a  little  while  after  his 
death  (supposing  that  he  was  dead  when  the  Apocalypse  ap- 
peared), his  adherents  could  be  represented  as  in  the  minority. 
In  the  churches  of  this  country,  above  all,  could  we  not  con- 
ceive how  the  church  of  Ephesus  would  have  bestowed  an  in- 
sulting sobriquet  upon  him.  Paul,  generally  speaking,  forbade 
himself  working  upon  the  ground  of  others,  or  preaching  and 
writing  to  churches  which  he  had  not  established.82  But  his 
enemies  did  not  observe  the  same  discretion.  They  followed 
him  step  by  step,  and  set  about  destroying  his  work  by  insult 
and  calumny. 

19* 


222  SAINT  PAUL. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

SCHISMS    IN   THE    CHURCH    OF    CORINTH. APOLLOS. FIRST 

SCANDALS. 

AT  the  same  time  that  he  was  directing  for  himself  the  vast 
propaganda  which  was  gaining  over  Asia  to  the  religion  of 
Jesus,  Paul  was  absorbed  with  the  gravest  pre-occupations. 
Solicitude  for  all  the  churches  which  he  had  established  weighed 
upon  him.1  The  church  of  Corinth,  especially,  caused  him  the 
greatest  anxiety.2  During  the  three  or  four  years  which  had 
elapsed  since  the  departure  of  the  apostle  from  the  port  of 
Cenchrea,  various  movements  had  unceasingly  disturbed  this 
church.  Greek  levity  caused  phenomena  here,  which  had 
not  as  yet  been  produced  in  any  of  the  localities  visited  by 
Christianity. 

We  have  seen  that  Apollos,  after  a  short  stay  at  Ephesus, 
where  Aquila  and  Priscilla  contributed  to  his  Christian  educa- 
tion, had  set  out  for  Corinth,  with  very  pressing  letters  from  the 
brethren  of  Asia  to  those  of  Achaia.3  The  knowledge  and 
eloquence  of  this  new  teacher  were  much  admired  by  the 
Corinthians.  Apollos  equalled  Paul  in  his  knowledge  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  was  far  superior  to  him  in  literary  culture.  The 
Greek  which  he  spoke  was  excellent,  while  that  of  the  apostle 
was  very  defective.  He  had  also,  it  appears,  the  exterior  gifts 
of  an  orator,  which  were  wanting  in  Paul,  namely,  imposing 
presence  and  easy  flow  of  language.  Certain  it  is  he  met  with 
remarkable  success  at  Corinth.  His  arguments  with  the  Jews, 
upon  the  question  of  knowing  whether  Jesus  was  the  Messiah, 
were  regarded  as  very  strong.  He  made  many  conversions.4 
Apollos  and  St.  Paul  both  presented  distinct  physiognomies  in 
the  new  sect.  They  were  the  only  Jews,  well  instructed  accord- 
ing to  the  Jewish  method,  who  had  embraced  the  doctrine  of 


SAINT    PAUL.  223 

Jesus.  But  they  originated  in  different  schools.  Paul  was  of 
that  of  Hierosolymitic  Pharisaism,  corrected  by  the  liberal 
tendencies  of  Gamaliel.  Apollos  originated  in  the  Jewish- 
Hellenic  school  of  Alexandria,  such  as  we  know  it  from  Philo. 
Probably  he  already  taught  the  theories  of  the  logos,  and  was 
the  introducer  of  these  theories  into  Christian  theology.  Paul 
had  a  sort  of  feverish  ardor,  that  intense  fanaticism  which  char- 
acterizes the  Jew  of  Palestine.  Natures  like  that  of  Paul  only 
change  once  in  a  lifetime.  The  direction  of  their  fanaticism  once 
found,  they  follow  it  without  any  deviation  or  examination. 
Apollos,  more  inquisitive,  of  a  more  investigating  turn  of  mind, 
was  susceptible  of  seeking  forever.  He  was  a  man  of  talent, 
rather  than  an  apostle.  But  everything  leads  us  to  believe  that 
he  united  great  sincerity  to  this  talent,  and  that  he  was  a  very 
winning  person.  At  the  period  of  his  arrival  in  Corinth  he  had 
not  yet  seen  Paul.5  It  was  only  through  Aquila  and  Priscilla 
that  he  knew  the  apostle,  whose  rival  he  was  soon  unconsciously 
to  become. 

Among  these  trivial,  brilliant,  superficial  inhabitants  of  the 
borders  of  the  Mediterranean,  factions,  parties,  and  divisions 
constitute  a  social  necessity ;  without  them,  life  appears  tiresome. 
To  procure  themselves  satisfaction  of  hating  and  loving,  of 
being  excited,  jealous,  and  triumphant  in  turn,  they  often  oppose 
each  other  in  the  most  trivial  things.  The  object  of  dissension 
is  insignificant.  It  is  the  dissension  which  they  wish,  and  which 
they  seek  for  itself  alone.  Personal  questions  become,  in  such 
societies,  most  important  ones.  Let  two  preachers  or  two 
physicians  meet  in  a  little  city  of  the  South,  the  city  divides 
itself  into  two  parties  concerning  the  merits  of  each  of  them. 
It  is  vain  for  the  two  preachers,  or  two  physicians  to  be  friends. 
They  will  not  prevent  their  names  from  becoming  the  signal  of 
animated  struggles,  the  standard  of  two  inimical  camps. 

So  it  was  at  Corinth.6  •  The  talent  of  Apollos  turned  all  their 
heads.  It  was  a  style  entirely  different  from  that  of  Paul.  The 
latter  conquered  by  his  energy,  his  passion,  the  animated 


224  SAINT  PAUL. 

impression  of  his  ardent  soul.  Apollos,  by  his  elegant  language, 
correct  and  sure  of  itself.  Several  persons,  ill-disposed  towards 
Paul,  and  who,  perhaps,  did  not  owe  their  conversion  to  him, 
openly  preferred  Apollos.  They  regarded  Paul  as  a  coarse  man, 
without  education,  ignorant  of  philosophy  and  literature.7 
Apollos  was  their  teacher ;  they  only  swore  by  Apollos.8  The 
faithful  of  Paul  doubtless  replied  with  warmth,  and  in  dis- 
paragement of  the  new  teacher.  Although  Paul  and  Apollos 
were  in  no  wise  enemies,  and  looked  upon  each  other  as  fellow- 
workers;  and,  although  there  was  no  difference  of  opinion 
between  them,9  their  names  thus  became  the  standards  of  two 
parties,  who  exchanged,  in  spite  of  the  two  teachers,10  rather 
angry  epithets.  The  bad  feeling  continued  even  after  the 
departure  of  Apollos.  The  latter,  in  fact,  worn  out,  perhaps, 
by  the  zeal  displayed  for  him,  and  rising  above  all  these  petty 
feelings,  left  Corinth  and  returned  to  Ephesus.  He  found  Paul 
there,  with  whom  he  had  long  conversations,11  and  established 
relations  which,  without  being  those  of  a  disciple  or  intimate 
friend,12  were  those  of  two  great  souls,  worthy  of  understanding 
and  loving  each  other. 

This  was  not  the  only  cause  of  trouble.  Corinth  was  a 
locality  much  frequented  by  foreigners.  The  port  of  Cenchrea 
witnessed  the  daily  landing  of  multitudes  of  Jews  and  Syrians, 
several  of  whom  were  already  Christians,  but  of  another  school 
than  that  of  Paul,  and  but  slightly  well-disposed  towards  that 
of  the  apostle.  The  emissaries  of  the  church  of  Jerusalem, 
whom  we  have  already  met  at  Antioch  and  in  Galatia  upon  the 
footsteps  of  Paul,  had  reached  Corinth.  These  new-comers, 
great  talkers,  full  of  boasting,13  furnished  with  letters  of  recom- 
mendation from  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem,14  rose  up  against 
Paul,  created  suspicions  concerning  his  uprightness,15  un- 
dervalued or  denied  his  title  of  apostle,16  and  carried  their 
rudeness  to  the  point  of  sustaining  that  Paul  himself  did  not 
really  believe  that  he  was  an  apostle,  since  he  did  not  profit  by 
the  ordinary  privileges  of  the  apostolate.17  His  disinterestedness 


SAINT  PAUL.  22$ 

was  used  against  him.  They  represented  him  as  a  vain,  incon- 
stant man,  talking  and  threatening  a  great  deal  without  effect. 
They  reproached  him  with  glorifying  himself  upon  every  occa- 
sion,—  with  appealing  to  pretended  divine  favors.18  They  denied 
his  visions. w  In  this  connection,  they  insisted  that  Paul  had 
not  known  Jesus,20  that  consequently  he  had  no  right  to  speak 
about  him. 

At  the  same  time,  they  dwelt  upon  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem, 
especially  James  and  Petef,  as  the  true  apostles,  the  arch- 
apostlcs^  in  a  certain  sense.22  The  new-comers,  from  the  mere 
fact  of  their  being  from  Jerusalem,  claimed  to  be  in  connec- 
tion with  Christ  after  the  flesh,  inasmuch  as  they  were  con- 
nected with  James,  and  with  those  whom  Christ  had  chosen  in 
his  lifetime.23  They  sustained  that  God  had  established  a  single 
teacher,  namely,  Christ,  by  whom  the  twelve  were  instituted.2* 
Proud  of  their  circumcision  and  Jewish  descent,25  they  strove 
to  tighten  as  much  as  possible  the  yoke  of  legal  observances.2* 
Thus  there  was  at  Corinth,  as  almost  everywhere,  a  party 
"  favoring  Peter."  The  division  was  profound.  "  I  am  of  Paul," 
said  some.  "  I  am  of  Apollos,"  said  others.  "  I  am  of  Peter," 
said  the  third  party.  Finally,  a  few,  wishing  to  display  minds 
superior  to  these  disputes,  invented  rather  an  ingenious  expres- 
sion. They  created,  as  a  designation  for  themselves,  the  name 
of  "party  of  Christ."  When  the  discussion  grew  warm,  and  the 
names  of  Paul,  Apollos,  and  Peter  were  mingled  in  the  contest, 
they  intervened  with  the  name  of  the  forgotten  one.  "I  am  of 
Christ,"  said  they ; 27  and,  as  all  these  Hellenic  juvenilities  did 
not  exclude,  at  the  bottom,  a  true  Christian  sentiment,  the 
recollection  of  Jesus  thus  brought  up  exercised  a  powerful  effect 
in  restoring  concord.  The  name  of  this  "party  of  Christ"  im- 
plied, nevertheless,  somewhat  of  hostility  against  the  apostle, 
and  a  certain  ingratitude,  since  those  who  urged  it  against 
"those  of  Paul"  seemed  to  wish  to  destroy  the  trace  of  an 
apostolate,  to  which  they  owed  their  knowledge  of  Christ. 

Contact  with  the  heathen  could  not  cause  the  slightest  danger 
19* 


226  SAINT  PAUL. 

to  the  young  church.  These  dangers  resulted  from  the  Greek 
philosophy,  and  the  bad  morals  which,  to  a  certain  extent, 
besieged  the  church,  penetrated  into  it,  and  undermined  it  on 
all  sides.  We  have  already  seen  that,  at  Athens,  philosophy 
arrested  the  progress  of  Paul's  preaching.  Corinth  was  far  from 
being  a  city  of  so  high  a  culture  as  Athens ;  nevertheless,  it 
contained  many  instructed  people  who  received  the  new  dogmas 
very  badly.  The  cross,  the  resurrection,  the  approaching  re- 
generation of  all  things,  appeared  tfe  them  follies  and  absurdi- 
ties.38 Several  of  the  faithful  were  shaken ;  or,  in  order  to 
undertake  impossible  conciliations,  altered  the  Gospel.29  The 
irreconcilable  struggle  between  positive  science  and  the  super- 
natural elements  of  the  Christian  faith  began. 

This  struggle  will  end  only  by  the  complete  extinction  of  posi- 
tive science  in  the  Christian  world  in  the  sixth  century.  The 
same  struggle  with  positive  science  will  begin  anew  upon  the 
threshold  of  modern  times. 

The  general  immorality  of  Corinth  exercised  disastrous  effects 
upon  the  church.  Several  Christians  had  not  been  able  to  free 
themselves  from  loose  habits,  which,  in  consequence  of  being 
prevalent,  had  almost  ceased  to  appear  wrong.30  There  was 
mention  of  strange  and,  until  then,  unheard-of  scandals  in 
the  assembly  of  the  saints.  The  bad  morals  of  the  city 
scaled  the  walls  of  the  church  and  corrupted  it.  The  Jewish 
regulations  upon  marriage,  of  which  all  portions  of  the  Christian 
church  advocated  the  imperative  and  absolute  character,31  were 
violated.32  Such  a  Christian  lived  publicly  with  his  step-mother. 
A  spirit  of  vanity,  frivolity,  wrangling,  and  foolish  pride,  pre- 
vailed with  several.33  It  appeared  as  if  there  was  no  other 
church  in  the  world,  so  much  did  this  community  walk  in  its 
own  paths,  without  any  regard  for  the  others.84  The  gifts  of  the 
Spirit,  glossology,  prophetic  preaching,  the  gift  of  miracles,  — 
elsewhere  subjects  of  so  much  edification,  here  degenerated 
into  disgraceful  scenes.86  They  grew  jealous  of  each  other.30 
The  inspired  ones  of  different  classes  interrupted  each  other 


PAUL.  127 

in  an  indecent  manner.87  Hence  there  resulted  strange 
disorders  in  the  church.88  The  women,  elsewhere  so  submis- 
sive, were  here  bold,  and  almost  claimed  equality  with  men. 
They  wished  to  pray  aloud,  and  prophesy  in  the  church,  and 
that  too,  unveiled,  their  long  hair  hanging  down,  making  the 
assembly  a  witness  of  their  rapture,  their  soft  delirium,  and  their 
pious  grace  of  manner.39 

But  it  was  above  all  the  agapce,  or  mystic  feasts,  which  gave 
rise  to  the  most  flagrant  abuses.  The  scenes  of  luxurious 
feasting  which  followed  heathen  sacrifices  were  reproduced 
here.40  Instead  of  having  everything  in  common,  each  one  ate 
the  part  which  he  had  brought;  some  went  out  almost  intoxi- 
cated, the  others  still  hungry.  The  poor  were  covered  with 
shame,  the  rich  with  their  abundance  appeared  to  insult  those 
who  had  nothing.  The  recollection  of  Jesus,  and  the  high 
signification  which  he  had  attached  to  this  repast,  appeared 
blotted  out.41  The  material  condition  of  the  church  was, 
moreover,  quite  bad;  there  were  many  sick,  and  several  were 
dead.42  The  cases  of  death,  in  the  state  in  which  minds  were, 
caused  a  great  deal  of  surprise  and  hesitation.43  The  sicknesses 
were  regarded  as  afflictions  or  chastisements.44 

Is  it  to  be  said,  that  four  years  had  sufficed  to  remove  all  the 
virtue  from  the  work  of  Jesus?  Assuredly  not.  There  were 
still  edifying  families,  in  particular  that  of  Stephanas,  which  had 
entirely  devoted  itself  to  the  service  of  the  church  and  was  a 
model  of  evangelical  activity.45  But  the  conditions  of  Christian 
society  were  already  much  changed.  The  little  church  of  saints 
of  the  last'  day  had  been  thrown  into  a  corrupt,  frivolous,  and  in 
no  wise  mystical  world.  There  were  already  bad  Christians. 
Time  was  past  in  which  Ananias  and  Sapphira  were  struck  dead 
for  having  kept  back  a  little  sum.  The  sacred  repast  of  Jesus 
became  a  revel,  and  the  earth  did  not  open  to  swallow  up  him 
who  went  reeling  from  tire  table  of  the  Lord. 

These  bad  reports  reached  Paul  one  after  the  other,  and  filled 
him  with  sorrow.  The  first  rumors  merely  mentioned  several 


228  SAINT  PAUL. 

transgressions  against  morality.  Paul  wrote  an  epistle  on  this 
subject  which  has  not  reached  us.46  In  it  he  forbade  the  faith- 
ful to  have  any  connection  with  the  persons  whose  lives  were 
not  pure.  Ill-disposed  persons  affected  to  assign  a  meaning  to 
this  order,  which  rendered  it  impossible  to  be  obeyed.  "  Only 
have  connection  in  Corinth,"  said  they,  "with  irreproachable 
people?"  ....  "But  what  is  he  thinking  of?  It  is  not 
alone  Corinth,  but  the  world  too,  that  it  would  be  necessary  to 
leave."  Paul  was  obliged  to  recur  to  this  order,  and  explain  it. 

A  little  later,  probably  in  April,47  he  learned  of  the  dissensions 
which  were  agitating  the  church,  through  brethren  whom  he 
calls  "those  of  the  house  of  Chloe." 4 '  Precisely  at  this  moment 
he  was  thinking  of  leaving  Ephesus.49  Motives  of  which  we 
are  ignorant  retaining  him  there  for  some  time,  he  sent  his 
disciple  Timothy 60  to  Greece  in  advance  of  himself,  with  powers 
equal  to  his  own,  and  accompanied  by  several  brethren;51 
among  others,  a  certain  Erastus,  probably  a  different  one  from 
the  treasurer  of  Corinth,  who  bore  the  same  name.52  Although 
the  principal  object  of  their  journey  was  Corinth,  they  went  by 
way  of  Macedonia.53  Paul  intended  himself  to  take  this  route,54 
and  according  to  his  custom  he  made  his  disciples  precede  him, 
in  order  to  announce  his  arrival. 

A  short  while  after  the  message  from  Chloe,  and  before 
Timothy  and  his  companions  had  arrived  at  Corinth,56  new 
envoys  from  this  city  -arrived  in  search  of  Paul.66  They  were 
the  deacon  Stephanas,  Fortunatus,  and  Achaicus,57  three  men 
very  dear  to  the  apostle.  Stephanas  was,  according  to  the 
expression  of  the  apostle,  "the  first  fruits  of  Asia;"  and  since 
the  departure  of  Aquila  and  Priscilla  he  occupied  the  first  rank 
in  the  community,  or  at  least  in  the  party  of  Paul.  The 
envoys  brought  a  letter  asking  explanations  upon  the  previous 
epistle  of  Paul,  and  solutions  for  divers  cases  of  conscience  — 
in  particular,  regarding  marriage,  meats  sacrificed  to  idols,  the 
spiritual  exercises,  and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit.68  The  three 
deputies  gave  a  detailed  description  of  the  abuses  which  had 


SAINT  PAUL.  229 

crept  in.  The  grief  of  the  apostle  was  very  great,  and,  without 
the  consolations  given  him  by  the  pious  messengers,"  he  would 
h;uc  been  moved  with  anger  against  so  much  weakness.  He 
luul  (ixctl  upon  the  time  of  his  departure  after  Pentecost,*10  which 
may  have  been  about  two  months  distant,01  but  he  wished  to  go 
by  way  of  Macedonia.82  He  could  not,  therefore,  reach  Mace- 
donia before  three  months.  He  immediately  resolved  to  write 
to  the  ailing  church,  and  to  reply  to  the  questions  put  to  him. 
As  he  did  not  have  Timothy  with  him,  he  took  as  secretary  a 
disciple  unknown  in  fact,  named  Sosthenes ;  and,  by  way  of  a 
delicate  attention,  he  wished  that  the  name  of  this  disciple 
should  occur  in  the  superscription  of  the  letter  alongside  of  his 
own.63 

It  begins  by  an  appeal  to  concord,  and  under  the  appearance 
of  humility,  by  an  apology  for  his  preaching  :  — 

"Now  this  I  say,  that  every  one  of  you  saith,  I  am  of  Paul  ; 
and  I  of  Apollos ;  and  I  of  Cephas ;  and  I  of  Christ. 

"Is  Christ  divided?  was  Paul  crucified  for  you?  -or  were  ye 
baptized  in  the  name  of  Paul  ? 

"  I  thank  God  that  I  baptized  none  of  you,  but  Crispus  and 
Gaius ; 

"  Lest  any  should  say  that  I  had  baptized  in  mine  own  name. 

"And  I  baptized  also  the  household  of  Stephanas:  besides,  I 
know  not  whether  I  baptized  any  other. 

"For  Christ  sent  me  not  to  baptize,  but  to  preach  the  gospel : 
not  with  wisdom  of  words,  lest  the  cross  of  Christ  should  be 
made  of  none  effect. 

"For  the  preaching  of  the  cross  is  to  them  that  perish  foolish- 
ness ;  but  unto  us  which  are  saved,  it  is  the  power  of  God. 

"  For  it  is  written,  I  will  destroy  the  wisdom  of  the  wise,  and 
will  bring  to  nothing  the  understanding  of  the  prudent.64 

"Where  is  the  wise?  where  is  the  scribe?  where  is  the  disputer 
of  this  world?  hath  not  God  made  foolish  the  wisdom  of  this 
world  ? 

"  For  after  that  in  the  wisdom  of  God  the  world  by  wisdom 

20 


230  SAINT  PAUL. 

knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of  preaching 
to  save  them  that  believe. 

"For  the  Jews  require  a  sign,66  and  the  Greeks  seek  after 
wisdom : 

"But  we  preach  Christ  crucified,  unto  the  Jews  a  stumbling- 
block,  and  unto  the  Greeks  foolishness ; 

"But  unto  them  which  are  called,  both  Jews  and  Greeks, 
Christ  the  power  of  God,  and  the  wisdom  of  God. 

"Because  the  foolishness  of  God  is  wiser  than  men;  and  the 
weakness  of  God  is  stronger  than  men. 

"For  ye  see  your  calling,  brethren,  how  that  not  many  wise 
men  after  the  flesh,  not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble,  are 
called : 

"But  God  hath  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  con- 
found the  wise ;  and  God  hath  chosen  the  weak  things  of  the 
world  to  confound  the  things  which  are  mighty ; 

"And  base  things  of  the  world,  and  things  which  are  despised, 
hath  God  chosen,  yea,  and  things  which  are  not,  to  bring  to 
nought  things  that  are : 

"That  no  flesh  should  glory  in  his  presence.     .     .     . 

"And  I,  brethren,  when  I  came  to  you,  came  not  with  excel- 
lency of  speech  or  of  wisdom,  declaring  unto  you  the  testimony 
of  God. 

"For  I  determined  not  to  know  anything  among  you,  save 
Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified. 

"And  I  was  with  you  in  weakness,  and  in  fear,  and  in  much 
trembling. 

"And  my  speech  and  my  preaching  was  not  with  enticing 
words  of  man's  wisdom,  but  in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and 
of  power : 66 

"That  your  faith  should  not  stand  in  the  wisdom  of  men,  but 
in  the  power  of  God. 

"  Howbeit  we  speak  wisdom  among  them  that  are  perfect :  yet 
not  the  wisdom  of  this  world,  nor  of  the  princes  of  this  world, 
that  come  to  nought : 


SAINT  PAUL.  231 

"  But  we  speak  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery,  even  the 
hidden  wisdom,  which  God  ordained  before  the  world  unto  our 
glory; 

"  Which  none  of  the  princes  of  this  world  knew :  for  had  they 
known  it,  they  would  not  have  crucified  the  Lord  of  glory. 

"  But  as  it  is  written,  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither 
have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath 
prepared  for  them  that  love  him. 

"  But  God  hath  revealed  them  unto  us  by  his  Spirit :  for  the 
Spirit  searcheth  all  things,  yea,  the  deep  things  of  God. 

"  For  what  man  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man,  save  the  spirit  of 
man  which  is  in  him?  even  so  the  things  of  God  knoweth  no 
man,  but  the  Spirit  of  God. 

"  Now  we  have  received,  not  the  spirit  of  the  world,  but  the 
Spirit  which  is  of  God;  that  we  might  know  the  things  that  are 
freely  given  to  us  of  God. 

"Which  things  also  we  speak,  not  in  the  words  which  man's 
wisdom  teacheth,  but  which  the  Holy  Ghost  teacheth;  com- 
paring spiritual  things  with  spiritual. 

"  But  the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of 
God :  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him :  neither  can  he  know 
them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned. 

"  But  he  that  is  spiritual  judgeth  all  things,  yet  he  himself  is 
judged  of  no  man. 

"  And  I,  Brethren,  could  not  speak  untoryou  as  unto  spiritual, 
but  as  unto  carnal,  even  as  unto  babes  in  Christ. 

"  I  have  fed  you  with  milk,  and  not  with  meat :  for  hitherto  ye 
were  not  able  to  bear  it,  neither  yet  now  are  ye  able. 

".For  ye  are  yet  carnal :  for  whereas  there  is  among  you  envy- 
ing, and  strife,  and  divisions,  are  ye  not  carnal,  and  walk  as 
men? 

"For  while  one  saith,  I  am  of  Paul;  and  another,  I  am  of 
Apollos ;  are  ye  not  carnal  ? 

"  Who  then  is  Paul,  and  who  is  Apollos,  but  ministers  by  whom 
ye  believed,  even  as  the  Lord  gave  to  every  man  ? 


232  SAINT  PAUL. 

11 1  have  planted,  Apollos  watered ;  but  God  gave  the  increase.- 

"  So  then  neither  is  he  that  planteth  any  thing,  neither  he  that 
watereth ;  but  God  that  giveth  the  increase.  .  .  . 

"For  we  are  laborers  together  with  God:  ye  are  God's  hus- 
bandry, ye  are  God's  building. 

"  According  to  the  grace  of  God  which  is  given  unto  me,  as 
a  wise  masterbuilder,  I  have  laid  the  foundation,  and  another 
buildeth  thereon.  But  let  every  man  take  heed  how  he  buildeth 
thereupon. 

"  For  other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which 
is  Jesus  Christ.  .  .  . 

"  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God,  and  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you  ?  .  .  . 

"  Let  no  man  deceive  himself.  If  any  man  among  you  seemeth 
to  be  wise  in  this  world,  let  him  become  a  fool,  that  he  may  be 
wise. 

"  For  the  wisdom  of  this  world  is  foolishness  with  God :  for  it 
is  written,  He  taketh  the  wise  in  their  own  craftiness.67 

"  And  again,  The  Lord  knoweth  the  thoughts  of  the  wise  that 
they  are  vain.68 

"  Therefore  let  no  man  glory  in  men  ; 69  for  all  things  are  yours ; 

"  Whether  Paul,  or  Apollos,  or  Cephas,  or  the  world,  or  life, 
or  death,  or  things  present,  or  things  to  come ;  all  are  yours ; 

"And  ye  are  Christ's;  and  Christ  is  God's. 

"  Let  a  man  so  account  of  us,  as  of  the  ministers  of  Christ,  and 
stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  God.  .  .  . 

"  But  with  me  it  is  a  very  small  thing  that  I  should  be  judged 
of  you,  or  of  man's  judgment;  yea,  I  judge  not  mine  own 
self.  .  .  .  But  he  that  judge th  me  is  the  Lord.  .  .  . 

"  Therefore  judge  nothing  before  the  time  until  the  Lord  come, 
who  both  will  bring  to  light  the  hidden  things  of  darkness,  and 
will  make  manifest  the  counsels  of  the  hearts :  and  then  shall 
every  man  have  praise  of  God. 

"And  these  things,  brethren,  I  have  in  a  figure  transferred  to 
myself  and  to  Apollos  for  your  sakes,  that  ye  might  learn  in  us 


SAINT  PAUL.  233 

not  to  think  of  men  above  that  which  is  written,70  that  no  one  of 
you  be  puffed  up  for  one  against  another.  .  .  . 

"  Now  ye  are  full,  now  ye  are  rich,  ye  have  reigned  as  kings 
without  us;71  and  I  would  to  God  ye  did  reign,  that  we  also 
might  reign  with  you. 

"  For  I  think  that  God  hath  set  forth  us  the  apostles  last,  as  it 
were  appointed  to  death :  for  we  are  made  a  spectacle  unto  the 
world,  and  to  angels,  and  to  men. 

"  We  are  fools  for  Christ's  sake,  but  ye  are  wise  in  Christ;  we 
are  weak,  but  ye  are  strong;  ye  are  honorable,  but  we  are 
despised. 

"  Even  unto  this  present  hour  we  both  hunger,  and  thirst,  and 
are  naked,  and  are  buffeted,  and  have  no  certain  dwelling-place ; 

"And  labor,  working  with  our  own  hands:  being  reviled,  we 
bless ;  being  persecuted,  we  suffer  it : 

"  Being  defamed,  we  entreat :  we  are  made  as  the  filth  of  the 
world,  and  are  the  offscouring  of  all  things  unto  this  day. 

"  I  write  not  these  things  to  shame  you,  but  as  my  beloved 
sons  I  warn  you. 

"  For  though  ye  have  ten  thousand  instructors  in  Christ,  yet 
have  ye  not  many  fathers  :  for  in  Christ  Jesus  I  have  begotten 
you  through  the  gospel. 

"  Wherefore  I  beseech  you,  be  ye  followers  of  me. 

"  For  this  cause  have  I  sent  unto  you  Timotheus,  who  is  my 
beloved  son,  and  faithful  in  the  Lord,  who  shall  bring  you  into 
remembrance  of  my  ways  which  be  in  Christ,  as  I  teach  every- 
where in  every  church. 

"  Now  some  arc  puffed  up,  as  though  I  would  not  come  to  you. 

"  But  I  will  come  to  you  shortly,  if  the  Lord  will,  and  will  know, 
not  the  speech  of  them  which  are  puffed  up,  but  the  power. 

"  For  the  kingdom  of  God  is  not  in  word,  but  in  power. 

"What  will  ye?  shall  I  come  unto  you  with  a  rod,  or  in  love, 
and  in  the  spirit  of  meekness?" 

With  this  general  apology,  the  apostle  attacks  each  one  of 
the  abuses  mentioned  to  him,  and  each  one  of  the  questions 
20* 


234  SAINT  PAUL. 

asked.     He   is  extremely  severe    on  the  subject    of  fornica- 
tion.72 

"  It  is  reported  commonly  that  there  is  fornication  among  you, 
and  such  fornication  as  is  not  so  much  as  named  among  the 
Gentiles,  that  one  should  have  his  father's  wife. 

"And  ye  are  puffed  up  and  have  not  rather  mourned,  that  he 
that  hath  done  this  deed  might  be  taken  away  from  among  you. 

"  For  I  verily,  as  absent  in  body,  but  present  in  spirit,  have 
judged  already,  as  though  I  were  present,  concerning  him  that 
hath  so  done  this  deed, 

"  In  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  when  ye  are  gathered 
together,  and  my  spirit,  with  the  power  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 

"To  deliver  such  a  one  unto  Satan  for  the  destruction  of  the 
that  the  spirit  may  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus." 

There  is  no  question  of  doubt.  It  is  a  sentence  of  death  that 
Paul  pronounces.73  Terrible  legends  were  circulating  in  regard 
to  the  effect  of  excommunications.74  We  must  remember,  more- 
over, that  Paul  seriously  believed  himself  to  be  doing  miracles. 
In  only  delivering  up  to  Satan  the  body  of  the  guilty  one,  he 
doubtless  believed  himself  to  be  indulgent. 

order  which  Paul  had  given  in  a  previous  letter  (lost)  to 
the  Corinthians  to  avoid  all  connections  with  the  fornicators  had 
given  rise  to  misunderstandings.  Paul  sets  forth  his  idea.70  The 
Christian  is  not  to  j  udge  them  that  are  without,  but  he  is  to  be 
severe  for  them  that  are  within.  A  single  spot  upon  the  purity 
of  life  is  to  be  sufficient  to  exclude  one  from  society.  It  is  for- 
bidden to  eat  with  such  a  one.  We  see  that  it  is  of  a  convent, 
of  a  congregation  of  pious  persons  occupied  in  watching  and 
judging  each  other,  rather  than  of  a  church  in  the  modern  sense 
of  the  word,  that  such  an  organization  reminds  us.  Every 
church,  in  the  eyes  of  the  apostle,  is  responsible  for  the  errors 
committed  in  its  midst.  This  exaggerated  rigorism  was  justified 
in  ancient  society,  which  sinned  by  entirely  different  excesses. 
But  we  feel  how  much  such  an  idea  of  sanctity  possesses  of 
contractedness,  illiberality,  -and  spirit  contrary  to  the  morality 


SAINT  PAUL.  235 

of  him  formerly  called  the  "upright  man"  — a  morality,  the 
fundamental  principle  of  which  is  to  occupy  one's  self  as  little  as 
possible  with  the  conduct  of  others.  The  only  question  to  know 
is,  whether  a  society  can  hold  together  without  censorship  over 
private  morals,  and  whether  the  future  will  not  bring  something 
similar  to  ecclesiastical  discipline,  which  modern  liberalism  has 
so  jealously  suppressed. 

The  ideal  type  of  moral  perfection,  according  to  Paul,  is  a 
mild,  upright,  chaste,  sober,  charitable  man,  freed  from  wealth.78 
Humility  of  station  and  poverty  are  almost  requisite  to  be  a 
Christian.  The  words  covetous,  extortioner,  thief,  are  almost 
synonymous ;  at  least  the  vices  which  they  designate  have  the 
same  blame  attached  to  them."  The  antipathy  of  this  little 
community  for  the  high  society  of  the  world  was  strange.  Paul, 
following  in  this  respect  Jewish  tradition,78  blames  the  fact  of 
bringing  a  suit  before  the  unjust  as  an  act  unworthy  of  the 
faithful. 

"  Dare  any  of  you,  having  a  matter  against  another,  go  to  law 
before  the  unjust,  and  not  before  the  saints? 

"Do  ye  not  know  that  the  saints  shall  judge  the  world?  and 
if  the  world  shall  be  judged  by  you,  are  ye  unworthy  to  judge 
the  smallest  matters  ?  .  .  .  , 

"Know  ye  not  that  we  shall  judge  angels?  how  much  more 
things  that  pertain  to  this  life  ? 

"  If,  then,  ye  have  judgments  of  things  pertaining  to  this  life, 
set  them  to  judge  who  are  least  esteemed  in  the  church. 

"  I  speak  to  your  shame.  Is  it  so,  that  there  is  not  a  wise 
man  among  you  ?  no,  not  one  that  shall  be  able  to  judge  be- 
tween his  brethren  ? 

"  But  brother  goeth  to  law  with  brother,  and  that  before  the 
unbelievers. 

"  Now,  therefore,  there  is  utterly  a  fault  among  you,  because  ye 
go  to  law  one  with  another.  Why  do  ye  not  rather  take  wrong  ? 
Why  do  ye  not  rather  suffer  yourselves  to  be  defrauded  ? 

"  Nay,  ye  do  wrong,  and  defraud,  and  that  your  brethren. 


SAINT  PAUL, 


The  rule  in  regard  to  the  natural  relations  between  man  and 
woman  excited  the  gravest  difficulties.  This  was  the  constant 
pre-occupation  of  the  apostle  when  he  wrote  to  the  Corinthians. 
The  coldness  of  Paul  gives  to  his  morality  something  rational, 
but  monastic  and  contracted.  Sexual  attraction  is  in  his  eye  an 
evil,  a  shame.  Since  it  can  not  be  suppressed,  it  must  be  regu- 
lated. Nature,  in  St.  Paul's  mind,  is  bad,  and  grace  consists 
in  contradicting  and  subduing  it.  He  has,  nevertheless,  some 
beautiful  expressions  concerning  the  respect  man  owes  to  his 
body;  God  will  raise  it  up,  the  bodies  of  the  faithful  are  the  tem- 
ple of  the  holy  spirits,  the  members  of  Christ.  What  a  crime  to 
take  members  of  Christ,  and  make  them  members  of  a  harlot.79 
Absolute  chastity  is  that  which  is  worth  the  most.80  Virginity  is 
the  perfect  state.  Marriage  was  established  as  a  lesser  evil.  But 
as  soon  as  it  is  contracted,  the  two  parties  have  equal  rights 
over  each  other.  Conjugal  relations  are  not  to  be  interrupted 
except  for  a  time,  and  in  consideration  of  religious  duties.  Di- 
vorce is  forbidden,  except  in  cases  of  mixed  marriages,  in  which 
the  unbelieving  party  departs  first. 

Marriages  contracted  between  Christians  and  unbelievers  may 
be  continued.  The  believing  wife  sanctifies  the  unbelieving 
husband ;  the  believing  husband  sanctifies  the  unbelieving  wife ; 
in  the  same  manner  the  children  are  sanctified  by  their  parents. 
Furthermore,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  believing  one  will  con- 
vert the  other.  But  new  marriages  can  only  take  place  between 
Christians.81  All  these  questions  presented  themselves  in  the 
most  singular  light,  since  it  was  believed  that  the  end  of  the 
world  was  approaching.82  In  the  state  of  crisis  in  which  they 
were,  pregnancy  and  the  suckling  of  children  appeared  to  be 
anomalies.83  Very  few  marriages  took  place  within  the  sect,84 
and  one  of  the  worst  consequences  for  those  who  became  affi- 
liated with  it  was  the  impossibility  of  marrying  their  daughters. 
Many  murmured,  finding  this  unseemly  and  contrary  to  custom. 9 
To  prevent  greater  evils,86  and  out  of  regard  for  fathers  of  families 
who  had  daughters  past  the  flower  of  their  age  "7  on  their  hands, 


SAINT  PAUL.  237 

Paul  allows  marriage.  But  he  does  not  conceal  the  scorn  and 
disgust  inspired  within  him  by  this  state,  which  he  deems  disa- 
greeable, full  of  trouble,  and  humiliating.  */ 

"  But  this  I  say,  brethren,  the  time  is  short :  it  remaineth,  that 
both  they  that  have  wives  be  as  though  they  had  none ; 

"  And  they  that  weep,  as  though  they  wept  not ;  and  they  that 
rejoice,  as  though  they  rejoiced  not;  and  they  that  buy,  as  though 
they  possessed  not ; 

"And  they  that  use  this  world  as  not  abusing  it;  for  the  fashion 
of  this  world  passeth  away. 

"  But  I  would  have  you  without  carefulness.  He  that  is  un- 
married careth  for  the  things  that  belong  to  the  Lord,  how  he 
may  please  the  Lord : 

"  But  he  that  is  married  careth  for  the  things  that  are  of  the 
world,  how  he  may  please  his  wife. 

"  There  is  difference  also  between  a  wife  and  a  virgin.  The 
unmarried  woman  careth  for  the  things  of  the  Lord,  that  she 
may  be  holy  both  in  body  and  in  spirit :  but  she  that  is  married 
careth  for  the  things  of  the  world,  how  she  may  please  her 
husband. 

"And  this  I  speak  for  your  own  profit;  not  that  I  may  cast  a 
snare  upon  you,  but  for  that  which  is  comely,  and  that  ye  may 
attend  upon  the  Lord  without  distraction."  8 

Religious  exaltation  always  produces  such  sentiments.  Or- 
thodox Judaism,  which,  nevertheless,  made  opposition  to  celibacy 
and  raised  marriage  to  a  duty,89  had  doctors  who  reasoned  like 
Paul.  "Why  should  I  marry?"  said  Rabbi  Ben  Azai;  "I  am 
in  love  with  the  law ;  the  world  can  be  peopled  without  me." fl 
Later,  from  what  appears,  Paul  expressed  much  correcter  ideas 
on  this  subject,  and  regarded  the  union  between  man  and 
woman  as  a  symbol  of  the  love  of  Christ  and  his  church.01  He 
instituted  as  a  supreme  law  of  marriage,  love  on  the  part  of 
the  man,  submission  on  the  part  of  the  woman.  He  called 
to  mind  that  admirable  page  of  Genesis,93  in  which  the  myste- 


238  SAINT  PAUL. 

rious  attraction  between  the  two  sexes  is  explained  by  a  philo- 
sophical fable  of  divine  beauty. 

The  question  of  meats  coming  from  heathen  sacrifices  is 
solved  by  St.  Paul  with  great  good  sense.93  The  Jewish-Chris- 
tians held  that  such  meats  should  be  absolutely  abstained  from, 
and  it  appears  that  it  had  been  agreed  upon,  in  the  Council 
of  Jerusalem,  that  every  one  should  avoid  them.94  Paul  was 
more  liberal.  According  to  him,  the  fact  that  a  piece  of  meat 
had  formed  part  of  a  sacrificed  beast  is  insignificant.  The 
false  gods  not  being  anything,  the  meat  which  is  offered  to 
them  does  not  thereby  become  defiled.  It  was  lawful,  therefore, 
to  buy  promiscuously  all  meat  offered  in  the  market,  without 
asking  any  question  as  to  the  origin  of  each  piece.  Neverthe- 
less, a  reserve  is  to  be  exercised ;  there  are  scrupulous  con- 
sciences which  consider  this  idolatry.  Now,  the  enlightened 
man  is  not  only  to  be  guided  by  principles,  but  by  charity. 
He  should  abstain  from  things  which  he  knows  to  be  lawful, 
because  the  weak  are  offended  by  it.  Knowledge  puffs  up, 
but  charity  edifies.  Everything  is  permitted  to  the  enlightened 
man,  but  everything  is  not  expedient ;  all  things  do  not  edify.95 
One  must  not  think  of  himself  alone :  he  must  also  think  of 
the  others.  This  is  one  of  the  favorite  ideas  of  Paul,  and  the 
explanation  of  several  of  the  episodes  of  his  life,  in  which  he 
is  seen  to  subject  himself,  out  of  regard  for  timorous  persons, 
to  observances  upon  which  he  places  no  importance.  "  If 
the  meat  which  I  eat,"  says  he,  "  harmless  as  it  is,  offend  my 
brother,  I  will  eat  no  flesh  while  the  world  standeth." 

A  few  faithful  ones,  nevertheless,  went  a  little  too  far.  In- 
fluenced by  their  family  connections,  they  took  part  in  the 
repasts  which  followed  sacrifices,  and  which  were  held  in  the 
temples.  Paul  blames  this  custom,  and,  according  to  a  manner 
of  reasoning  which  is  familiar  to  him,  sets  out  with  a  principle 
different  from  the  one  which  he  had  just  admitted.  The  gods 
of  the  people  are  devils :  to  participate  in  their  sacrifices  is 


SAINT  PAUL.  239 

to  have  connection  with  devils.  One  cannot  at  the  same  time 
partake  of  the  Lord's  table,  and  the  table  of  devils,  —  drink 
of  the  cup  of  the  Lord,  and  the  cup  of  devils.98  Repasts  which 
take  place  in  the  houses  are  not  of  so  much  consequence. 
One  should  neither  refuse  to  go,  nor  be  worried  about  the 
origin  of  the  meats.  If  it  be  said  that  a  meat  was  offered 
in  sacrifice  unto  the  gods,  it  is  to  be  abstained  from,  lest  it 
give  rise  to  scandal.97  In  general,  are  they  to  avoid  what 
might  be  a  stumbling-block  to  the  Jew,  the  Gentile,  and  the 
Christian.  In  intercourse,  to  place  their  liberty  subordinate 
to  that  of  others,  at  the  same  time  maintaining  their  own  rights, 
and  striving  to  please  all  men  and  all  things.98 

"Am  I  not  an  apostle?  Am  1  not  free?  Have  I  not  seen 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  ?  Are  not  ye  my  work  in  the  Lord  ? 

"If  I  be  not  an  apostle"  unto  others,  yet  doubtless  I  am  to 
you ;  for  the  seal  of  mine  apostleship  are  ye  in  the  Lord. 

"  Mine  answer  to  them  that  do  examine  me  is  this, : 

"  Have  we  not  power  to  eat  and  to  drink  ? 

"  Have  we  not  power  to  lead  about  a  sister,  a  wife,  as  well 
as  other  apostles,  and  as  the  brethren  of  the  Lord,  and  Cephas  ? 

"Or  I  only  and  Barnabas,  have  not  we  power  to  forbear 
working  ? 

"Who  goeth  a  warfare  any  time  at  his  own  charges?  Who 
planteth  a  vineyard,  and  eateth  not  of  the  fruit  thereof?  or  who 
feedeth  a  flock,  and  eateth  not  of  the  milk  of  the  flock  ?  .  .  . 

"If  we  have  sown  unto  you  spiritual  things,  is  it  a  great  thing 
if  we  shall  reap  your  carnal  things  ? 

"  If  others  be  partakers  of  this  power  over  you,  are  not  we 
rather  ?  Nevertheless  we  have  not  used  this  power ;  but  suffer 
all  things,  lest  we  should  hinder  the  gospel  of  Christ.  .  .  . 

"  For  though  I  preach  this  gospel,  I  have  nothing  to  glory  of : 
for  necessity  is  laid  upon  me  ;  yea,  woe  is  unto  me,  if  I  preach 
not  the  gospel ! 

"  For  if  I  do  this  thing  willingly,  I  have  a  reward :  but  if  against 
my  will,  a  dispensation  of  the  Gospel  is  committed  unto  me. 


240  SAINT  PAUL. 

11  What  is  my  reward  then  ?  Verily  that,  when  I  preach  the 
gospel,  I  may  make  the  gospel  of  Christ  without  charge,  that  I 
abuse  not  my  power  in  the  gospel. 

"  For  though  I  be  free  from  all  men,  yet  have  I  made  myself 
servant  unto  all,  that  I  might  gain  the  more. 

"And  unto  the  Jews  I  became  as  a  Jew,  that  I  might  gain  the 
Jews ;  to  them  that  are  under  the  law,  as  under  the  law,  that  I 
might  gain  them  that  are  under  the  law ; 

"To  them  that  are  without  law,  as  without  law  (being  not  with- 
out law  to  God,  but  under  the  law  to  Christ),  that  I  might  gain 
them  that  are  without  law. 

"To  the  weak  became  I  as  weak,  that  I  might  gain  the  weak  : 
I  am  made  all  things  to  all  men,lco  that  I  might  by  all  means 
save  some.  .  .  . 

"  Know  ye  not  that  they  which  run  in  a  race101  run  all,  but  one 
receiveth  the  prize  ?  So  run,  that  ye  may  obtain. 

"  And  every  man  that  strive th  for  the  mastery  is  temperate  in 
all  things.102  Now  they  do  it  to  obtain  a  corruptible  crown ;  but 
we  an  incorruptible. 

"  I  therefore  so  run,  not  as  uncertainly ;  so  fight  I,  not  as  one 
that  beateth  the  air  : 

"But  I  keep  under  my  body,  and  bring  it  into  subjection: 
lest  that  by  any  means,  when  I  have  preached  to  others,  I 
myself  should  be  a  castaway."  108 

"""*  As  to  the  question  of  the  position  of  women  in  the  church, 
it  is  to  be  expected  that  the  apostle  would  decide  it  with  his 
marked  severity.  He  blames  the  bold  attempts  of  the  women 
of  Corinth,  and  reminds  them  of  the  practice  of  other  commu- 
nities.104 They  are  never  to  speak  or  to  ask  questions  in  the 
church.  The  gift  of  tongues  is  not  for  them.  They  are  to  be 
submissive  to  their  husbands.105  If  they  desire  to  know  any- 
thing, they  are  to  ask  their  husbands  at  home.  It  is  as  much 
a  shame  for  a  woman  to  appear  in  church  without  a  veil,  as  to 
appear  shorn  or  shaven.106  The  veils  were  moreover  necessary, 
on  account  of  the  angels.107  They  supposed  angels  present 


SAINT  PAUL.  241 

at  divine  service,108  and  susceptible  of  being  tempted  at  the 
sight  of  women's  hair,109  or  at  least,  being  distracted  by  this 
sight  from  their  duty,  which  is,  to  carry  the  prayers  of  the  saints 
to  God.110  "The  head  of  man  is  Christ,  the  head  of  the 
woman  is  man,  the  head  of  Christ  is  God.  .  .  .  Man  ought 
not  to  cover  his  head  forasmuch  as  he  is  the  image  and  glory 
of  God ;  but,  the  woman  is  the  glory  of  the  man.  The  man 
is  not  of  the  woman,  but  the  woman  of  the  man.  ...  All 
things  are  of  God."  m 

The  observations  relative  to  the  "Lord's  Supper,"  m  possess 
very  great  historical  interest.  This  repast  became  more  and 
more  the  essential  part  of  Christian  worship.  More  and  more 
did  the  idea  gain  ground  that  it  was  Jesus  himself  whom  they 
ate  there.  This  was,  doubtless,  metaphorical.113  But  metaphor, 
in  the  Christian  language  of  this  period,  was  not  absolutely 
distinct  from  reality.  At  any  rate,  this  sacrament  was  pre- 
eminently a  sacrament  of  unity  and  love. 

"The  cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless,  is  it  not  the  communion 
of  the  blood  of  Christ  ?  The  bread  which  we  break,  is  it  not 
the  communion  of  the  body  of  Christ  ? 

"For  we  being  many  are  one  bread,  and  one  body:  for  we 
are  all  partakers  of  that  one  bread. 

"  Behold  Israel  after  the  flesh  :  are  not  they  which  eat  of  the 
sacrifices  partakers  of  the  altar  ? 1U 

"For  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  that  which  also  I  delivered 
unto  you,  that  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  same  night  in  which  he  was 
betrayed,  took  bread : 

"And  when  he  had  given  thanks,  he  brake  it,  and  said,  Take, 
eat ;  this  is  my  body,  which  is  broken  for  you  :  this  do  in 
remembrance  of  me. 

"  After  the  same  manner  also  he  took  the  cup,  when  he  had 
supped,  saying,  This  cup  is  the  new  testament  in  my  blood : 
this  do  ye,  as  often  as  ye  drink  it,  in  remembrance  of  me. 

"  For  as  often  as  ye  eat  this  bread,  and  drink  this  cup,  ye  do 
shew  the  Lord's  death  till  he  come. 

21 


242  SAINT  PAUL. 

"Wherefore  whosoever  shall  eat  this  bread,  and  drink  this 
cup  of  the  Lord,  unworthily,  shall  be  guilty  of  the  body  and 
blood  of  the  Lord. 

"  But  let  a  man  examine  himself,  and  so  let  him  eat  of  that 
bread,  and  drink  of  that  cup. 

"For  he  that  eateth  and  drinketh  unworthily,  eateth  and 
drinketh  damnation  to  himself,  not  discerning  the  Lord's  body."  n5 

This  judgment  which  one  incurs  by  not  worthily  observing 
the  high  sanctity  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  is  not  eternal  damnation. 
They  are  temporal  punishments,  or  even  death,  —  death  often 
being  an  expiation  which  saves  the  soul.118  "For  this  cause," 
adds  the  apostle,  "many  are  weak  and  sickly  among  you,  and 
many  sleep.  For  if  we  judge  ourselves,  we  should  not  be 
judged.  But  when  we  are  judged,  we  are  chastened  of  the 
Lord,  that  we  should  not  be  condemned  with  the  world." 
That  is  to  say,  damned  in  eternity.  For  the  moment  the  apostle 
confines  himself  to  directing  that  those  who  go  to  the  agapa 
should  tarry  one  for  the  other,  that  they  should  eat  at  home, 
to  satisfy  the  appetite,  and  that  they  preserve  for  the  Lord's 
Supper  its  mystic  signification.117  He  will  set  the  rest  in 
order  upon  his  arrival. 

The  apostle  then  traces  the  theory  of  the  manifestations  of 
the  Spirit.118  Under  the  ill-defined  terms  "gifts,"119  "adminis- 
trations," 12°  and  "  operations," 121  he  arranges  thirteen  func- 
tions, constituting,  the  entire  hierarchy,  and  all  the  forms  of 
supernatural  activity.  Three  functions  are  precisely  indicated, 
and  made  subordinate  one  to  the  other.  They  are,  first,  the 
function  of  apostle ;  second,  that  of  prophet ;  third,  that  of 
teacher.122  Then  come  the  gifts,  the  administrations,  or  the 
powers  ;  which,  without  conferring  a  so  permanently  elevated 
character,  served  for  the  perpetual  manifestations  of  the  Spirit.123 
They  are,  first,  the  word  of  wisdom ; m  second,  the  word  of 
knowledge ; 125  third,  the  faith  ; 12C  fourth,  the  gift  of  healing  ; 127 
fifth,  the  power  of  working  miracles ; 128  sixth,  the  discerning 
of  spirits  j129  seventh,  the  gift  of  speaking  divers  kind  of 


SAINT  PAUL.  243 

tongues;130  eighth,  interpretation  of  tongues;181  ninth,  the 
works  of  charity;188  tenth,  the  administrative  cares.138  All 
these  administrations  are  good,  useful,  and  necessary.  They 
should  not  strive  to  lower  each  other,  nor  should  they  envy 
each  other.  They  have  a  common  source.  All  the " gifts" 
come  from  the  Holy  Spirit ;  all  the  "  administrations  "  emanate 
from  Christ ;  all  the  "  operations  "  come  from  God.  The  body 
has  several  members,  nevertheless  it  is  one.  The  division 
of  administrations  is  necessary  in  the  church,  as  in  the  body. 
These  administrations  cannot  do  without  each  other  any  more 
than  the  eye  can  do  without  the  hand,  the  head  without  the 
feet.  All  jealousy  between  them,  is,  therefore,  out  of  place. 
Without  doubt  they  are  not  equal  in  dignity,  but  it  is  exactly 
the  weakest  members  which  are  the  most  necessary.  It  is 
the  most  humble  members  which  are  the  most  honored,  the 
most  particularly  cared  for:  God  having  wished  to  establish 
in  this  respect,  a  compensation,  in  order  that  there  should 
be  no  schism  and  jealousy  in  the  body.  The  members,  there- 
fore, should  care  for  one  another.  If  one  suffers,  all  suffer; 
the  advantages  and  glories  of  the  one  are  the  advantages  and 
glories  of  the  other.  Of  what  advantage,  moreover,  these 
rivalries?  There  is  one  way  open  for  all,  and  which  is  the 
best,  —  one  gift  which  has  an  immense  superiority  over  the 
others. 

Borne  along  by  a  truly  prophetic  inspiration,  beyond  the 
mingled  ideas  and  aberrations,  Paul  then  wrote  this  admirable 
page,  the  only  one  of  all  Christian  literature  which  might  be 
compared  with  the  discourses  of  Jesus. 

"  Though  I  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels,  and 
have  not  charity,  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass,  or  a  tinkling 
cymbal. 

"And  though  I  have  the  gift  of  prophecy,  and  understand 
all  mysteries,  and  all  knowledge ;  and  though  I  have  all  faith, 
so  that  I  could  remove  mountains,  and  have  not  charity,  I  am 
nothing. 


244  SAINT  PAUL. 

11  And  though  I  bestow  all  my  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  and 
though  I  give  my  body  to  be  burned,  and  have  not  charity,  it 
profiteth  me  nothing. 

"  Charity  suffereth  long,  and  is  kind ;  charity  envieth  not ; 
charity  vaunteth  not  itself,  is  not  puffed  up, 

"  Doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly,  seeketh  not  her  own,  is  not 
easily  provoked,  thinketh  no  evil ; 

"Rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity,  but  rejoiceth  in  the  truth ; 

"  Beareth  all  things,  believe th  all  things,  hopeth  all  things,  en- 
dureth  all  things. 

"  Charity  never  faileth  :  but  whether  there  be  prophecies,  they 
shall  fail ;  whether  there  be  tongues,  they  shall  cease  ;  whether 
there  be  knowledge,  it  shall  vanish  away. 

"  For  we  know  in  part,  and  we  prophesy  in  part. 

"  But  when  that  which  is  perfect  is  come,  then  that  which  is  in 
part  shall  be  done  away. 

"When  I  was  a  child,  I  spake  as  a  child,  I  understood  as  a 
child,  I  thought  as  a  child ;  but  when  I  became  a  man,  I  put 
away  childish  things. 

"  For  now  we  see  through  a  glass,  darkly ;  but  then  face  to 
face  :  now  I  know  in  part ;  but  then  shall  I  know  even  as  also 
I  am  known. 

"And  now  abideth  faith,  hope,  charity,  these  three  ;  but  the 
greatest  of  these  is  charity." 

Had  he  been  versed  in  experimental  psychology,  Paul  would 
have  proceeded  a  little  further.  He  would  have  said,  "  Brethren, 
put  away  illusions.  These  inarticulate  stammerings,  these  ec- 
stasies, these  miracles,  are  the  dreams  of  your  childhood.  But 
what  is  not  chimerical,  what  is  eternal,  —  that,  I  have  just  been 
preaching  to  you."  But  then  he  would  not  have  belonged  to 
his  age  ;  he  would  not  have  done  what  he  had  done.  Is  it  not 
a  great  deal  to  have  pointed  out  this  most  important  distinction 
between  those  eternal  religious  truths,  which  do  not  fall,134  and 
those  which  do  fall,  like  the  thoughts  of  childhood  ?  Is  it  not 


SAINT  PAUL.  245 

having  done  enough  for  immortality  to  have  written  those  words, 
"  The  letter  killeth,  the  spirit  giveth  life"  ? 135  Woe  to  him  who 
would  stop  at  the  surface ;  and  who,  for  two  or  three  chimerical 
gifts,  would  forget  that  in  this  strange  enumeration  among  the 
diaconies  and  charismata  of  the  primitive  church,  are  found 
the  care  of  those  who  suffer  the  administration  of  the  revenue 
for  the  poor,  and  the  giving  of  mutual  assistarice.  Paul  enu- 
merates these  administrations  towards  the  last,  and  as  if  they 
were  humble  things.  But  his  piercing  glance,  here  again,  can 
see  the  truth.  "  Take  care,"  says  he,  "  our  less  honorable  mem- 
bers are  precisely  the  most  honored  ones."  Prophets,  speakers 
of  languages,  teachers,  ye  will  pass  away.  Deacons,  devoted 
widows,  administrators  of  the  goods  of  the  church,  ye  will 
remain,  ye  build  for  eternity. 

In  the  detail  of  prescriptions  relative  to  spiritual  exercises, 
Paul  displays  his  practical  mind.188  He  openly  places  prophecy 
above  the  gift  of  tongues.  Without  absolutely  rejecting  glos- 
sology, he  makes  reflections  on  the  subject,  which  amount 
to  a  reprimand.  The  glossologist  does  not  speak  to  men  ;  he 
speaks  to  God.  No  one  understands  him ;  he  only  edifies  him- 
self. Prophecy,  on  the  contrary,  serves  as  edification  and 
consolation  for  all.  Glossology  is  only  good  when  it  is  inter- 
preted; that  is  to  say,  if  other  faithful  ones,  especially  gifted 
in  this  respect,  intervene  and  are  able  to  interpret  a  meaning. 
Of  itself,  it  is  like  indistinct  music,  in  which  the  sound  of  a  flute 
or  cithera  is  heard,  but  not  the  piece  played  by  these  instru- 
ments. It  is  like  an  injured  trumpet,  —  it  sounds  in  vain  ;  for 
as  it  does  not  sound  clearly,  no  one  obeys  this  uncertain  signal, 
and  prepares  for  battle.  If  the  tongue  does  not  give  sounds 
distinctly  articulated,  it  only  strikes  the  air.  A  discourse  in 
a  tongue  which  one  does  not  understand  has  no  effect  upon 
the  intelligence.  Thus,  there  can  be  no  glossology  without 
interpretation.  And  more,  glossology  is  of  itself  sterile ;  with 
it,  intelligence  remains  without  fruit ;  prayer  takes  place  within 
you  without  your  knowing  it. 

21* 


246  SAINT  PAUL. 

"  Else,  when  thou  shalt  bless  with  the  spirit,  how  shall  he  that 
occupieth  the  room  of  the  unlearned  say  Amen  at  thy  giving 
of  thanks,  seeing  he  understandeth  not  what  thou  sayest? 

"  For  thou  verily  givest  thanks  well,  but  the  other  is  not  edified. 

"  I  thank  my  God,  I  speak  with  tongues  more  than  ye  all: 

"  Yet  in  the  church  I  had  rather  speak  five  words  with  my 
understanding,  that  by  my  voice  I  might  teach  others  also,  than 
ten  thousand  words  in  an  unknown  tongue.187 

"  Brethren,  be  not  children  in  understanding :  howbeit  in 
malice  be  ye  children,  but  in  understanding  be  men.  .  .  . 

"  If  therefore  the  whole  church  be  come  together  into  one 
place,  and  all  speak  with  tongues,  and  there  come  in  those  that 
are  unlearned,  or  unbelievers,  will  they  not  say  that  ye  are  mad  ? 

"  But  if  all  prophesy,  and  there  come  in  one  that  believeth 
not,  or  one  unlearned,  he  is  convinced  of  all,  he  is  judged  of  all : 

"  And  thus  are  the  secrets  of  his  heart  made  manifest ;  and 
so  falling  down  on  his  face  he  will  worship  God,  and  report 
that  God  is  in  you  of  a  truth. 

"  How  is  it  then,  brethren  ?  When  ye  come  together,  every 
one  of  you  hath  a  psalm,  hath  a  doctrine,  hath  a  tongue,  hath 
a  revelation,  hath  an  interpretation.  Let  all  things  be  done  unto 
edifying. 

"  If  any  nian  speak  in  an  unknown  tongue,  let  it  be  by  two, 
or  at  the  most  by  three,  and  that  by  course;  and  let  one 
interpret. 

"  But  if  there  be  no  interpreter,  let  him  keep  silence  in  the 
church  ;  and  let  him  speak  to  himself,  and  to  God. 

"  Let  the  prophets  speak  two  or  three,  and  let  the  other  judge. 

"  If  any  thing  be  revealed  to  another  that  sitteth  by,  let  the 
first  hold  his  peace. 

"  For  ye  may  all  prophesy  one  by  one  that  all  may  learn,  and 
all  may  be  comforted. 

"And  the  spirits  of  the  prophets  are  subject  to  the  prophets. 

"  For  God  is  not  the  author  of  confusion,  but  of  peace,  as  in 
all  churches  of  the  saints. 


SAINT  PAUL.  247 

"  Let  your  women  keep  silence  in  the  churches ;  foi  it  is  not 
permitted  unto  them  to  speak ;  but  they  are  commanded  to  be 
under  obedience,  as  also  saith  the  law. 

"  And  if  they  will  learn  anything,  let  them  ask  their  husbands 
at  home  :  for  it  is  a  shame  for  women  to  speak  in  the  church. 

"What!  came  the  word  of  God  out  from  you?  or  came  it 
unto  you  only  ? 

"  If  any  man  think  himself  to  be  a  prophet,  or  spiritual,  let  him 
acknowledge  that  the  things  that  I  write  unto  you  are  the  com- 
mandments of  the  Lord. 

"  But  if  any  man  be  ignorant,  let  him  be  ignorant. 

"Wherefore,  brethren,  covet  to  prophesy,  and  forbid  not  to 
speak  with  tongues. 

"  Let  all  things  be  done  decently  and  in  order." 

Several  strange  sounds  uttered  by  the  glossologists,  in  which 
were  mingled  Greek,  Syriac,  the  words  anathema,  maran  atha, 
the  names  of  Jesus,  and  "  Lord,"  much  embarrassed  the  simple 
people.  Paul,  consulted  upon  this  subject,  practises  what  they 
called  "  discernment  of  spirits,"  and  strives  to  untangle  from 
this  confused  jargon  what  does  come  and  what  does  not  come 
from  the  spirit.138 

The  fundamental  dogma  of  the  primitive  church,  the  resur- 
rection,  and  the   approaching  end  of  the  world,  occupies  a 
considerable  place  in  this  epistle.     The.  apostle-xesunies  it  eight  -__~ 
or  nine  different   times.189  I  The  regeneration  will   be  accom-    v 
plished  by  fire. 

The  saints  will  be  judges  of  the  world,  and  even  angels.  The 
resurrection,  which,  of  all  Christian  dogmas,  was  the  most  repug-' 
nant  to  the  Greek  mind,  is  the  object  of  particular  attention.140 
Several,  while  admitting  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  his  approach- 
ing coming,  and  the  regeneration  which  he  was  going  to  bring 
about,  did  not  believe  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead. 

When  there  was  a  death  in  the  community,  it  was  a  scandal 
and  an  embarrassment  for  them.  Paul  had  no  difficulty  in 
proving  their  inconsistency.  If  the  dead  are  not  raised,  neither 


248  SAINT  PAUL. 

was  Christ  raised.  All  hope  is  vain ;  the  Christians  are  the  most 
to  be  pitied  of  all  men.  They  are  the  true  sages  who  say,  "  Let 
us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die."  The  resurrection 
of  Jesus  is  the  guarantee  of  the  resurrection  of  all.  Jesus 
has  begun  the  march ;  his  disciples  will  follow  him  upon  the 
day  of  his  glorious  manifestation;  then  will  commence  the 
reign  of  Christ.  All  other  power,  excepting  his,  will  be  de- 
stroyed. Death  will  be  the  last  enemy  that  he  will  conquer. 
All  will  be  subject  to  him,  excepting  God,  who  did  put  all 
things  under  him.  The  Son  in  truth  will  hasten  to  render  ho- 
mage to  God,  to  subject  himself  to  him,  in  order  that  God  may 
be  all  in  all. 

"  But  some  man  will  say,  How  are  the  dead  raised  up  ?  and 
with  what  body  do  they  come  ? 

"  Thou  fool,  that  which  thou  so  west  is  not  quickened,  except 
it  die : 

"  And  that  which  thou  sowest,  thou  sowest  not  that  body  that 
shall  be,  but  bare  grain ;  it  may  chance  of  wheat,  or  of  some 
other  grain : 

"  But  God  giveth  it  a  body  as  it  hath  pleased  him,  and  to  every 
seed  his  own  body. 

"  All  flesh  is  not  the  same  flesh  :  but  there  is  one  kind  of  flesh 
of  men,  another  flesh  of  beasts,  another  of  fishes,  and  another 
of  birds. 

"  There  are  also  celestial  bodies,  and  bodies  terrestrial :  but 
the  glory  of  the  celestial  is  one,  and  the  glory  of  the  terrestrial 
is  another. 

"  There  is  one  glory  of  the  sun,  and  another  glory  of  the  moon, 
and  another  glory  of  the  stars  ;  for  one  star  differeth  from  another 
star  in  glory. 

"  So  also  is  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  It  is  sown  in  cor- 
ruption, it  is  raised  in  incorruption  : 

"It  is  sown  in  dishonor,  it  is  raised  in  glory :  it  is  sown  in 
weakness,  it  is  raised  in  power : 

"It is  sown  a  natural  body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body.  There 
is  a  natural  body ;  and  there  is  a  spiritual  body. 


SAINT  PAUL.  249 

"  And  so  it  is  written,  The  first  man  Adam  was  made  a  living 
soul ;  the  last  Adam  was  made  a  quickening  spirit. 

"  Howbeit  that  was  not  first  which  is  spiritual,  but  that  which 
is  natural ;  and  afterward  that  which  is  spiritual. 

"The  first  man  is  of  the  earth,  earthy :  the  second  man  is  the 
Lord  from  heaven. 

"  As  is  the  earthy,  such  are  they  also  that  are  earthy  :  and  as  is 
the  heavenly,  such  are  they  also  that  are  heavenly. 

"Behold,  I  shew  you  a  mystery;  We  shall  not  all  sleep,  but 
we  shall  all  be  changed,141 

"  In  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last  trump  : 
for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised  incor- 
ruptible, and  we  shall  be  changed. 

"For  this  corruptible  must  put  on  incorruption,  and  this 
mortal  must  put  on  immortality. 

"  So  when  this  corruptible  shall  have  put  on  incorruption,  and 
this  mortal  shall  have  put  on  immortality,  then  shall  be  brought 
to  pass  the  saying  that  is  written,  Death  is  swallowed  up  in 
victory.142 

"  O  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ? 143  O  grave,  where  is  thy 
victory  ? 

"  The  sting  of  death  is  sin  ;  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law. 

"  But  thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth  us  the  victory  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

Alas  !  the  Christ  did  not  come.  All  of  them  died,  one  after 
the  other.  Paul,  who  believed  himself  to  be  one  of  those  who 
would  live  until  the  great  coming,144  died  in  his  turn.  We  shall 
see  how  neither  faith  nor  hope  was  made  to  pause  by  this. 
No  experience,  how  disheartening  soever  it  may  be,  appears 
decisive  to  humanity,  when  there  is  question  of  those  sacred 
dogmas  upon  which  she  bases,  not  without  reason,  her  conso- 
lation and  her  joy.  It  is  easy  for  us  to  find,  too  late,  that  these 
hopes  were  exaggerated :  it  is  fortunate,  at  least,  that  those  who 
shared  them  were  not  so  clairvoyant.  Paul  has  naively  told  us 
that  if  he  had  not  reckoned  upon  the  resurrection,  he  would 


250  SAINT  PAUL. 

have  led  the  life  of  a  simple  citizen,  entirely  occupied  with 
every-day  pleasures.146  A  few  sages  of  the  first  order,  Marcus 
Aurelius  and  Spinoza,  for  instance,  have  gone  further,  and 
have  practised  the  highest  virtue  without  hope  of  remu- 
neration. But  the  multitude  is  never  heroic.  There  was 
needed  a  generation  of  men  persuaded  that  they  would  not 
die.  There  was  needed  the  attraction  of  a  great  and  immediate 
reward  in  order  to  draw  out  from  man  that  enormous  sum  of 
devotion  and  sacrifice  which  established  Christianity.  The 
great  chimera  of  the  coming  kingdom  of  God,  was  thus  the 
creative  and  mother  idea  of  the  new  religion.  We  shall  soon 
witness  the  transformations  which  the  necessity  of  things  will 
force  this  belief  to  undergo.  Towards  the  years  54-58,  it  had 
reached  its  highest  degree  of  intensity.  All  the  letters  of  Paul 
written  about  this  period,  are,  so  to  express  it,  impregnated  with 
it.  The  two  Syriac  words  maran-atha  (the  Lord  is  about  to 
come),146  became  the  watchword  of  the  Christians  among  them- 
selves :  the  short,  animated  expression,  which  they  passed  from 
one  to  another,  to  encourage  themselves  in  their  hoping.147 


SAINT  PAUL.  251 


CHAPTER  XV. 

CONTINUATION  OF  THE   THIRD    MISSION   OF   PAUL. — THE   GREAT 
COLLECTION. — DEPARTURE    FROM    EPHESUS. 

PAUL,  according  to  his  custom,  added  to  the  end  of  his 
letter,  —  "  T/ie  salutation  of  me  Paul ^  with  mine  own  hand.  If 
any  man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ^  let  him  be  Anathema 
MA  RAN  ATHA." 

He  entrusted  his  letter  to  Stephanas,  Fortunatus,  and 
Achaicus,  who  had  brought  him  that  of  the  Corinthians.  Paul 
thought  that  the  three  deputies  would  arrive  at  Corinth  about 
the  same  time  as  Timothy.  He  was  fearful  lest  the  youth  and 
timidity  of  his  disciple  should  be  badly  dealt  with  in  the  scoffing 
society  of  Corinth,1  and  they  should  not  accord  him  sufficient 
authority.  The  apostle  recommended  in  the  most  earnest  man- 
ner that  they  should  treat  Timothy  as  they  would  himself,  and 
expressed  the  desire  that  they  should  send  him  back  as  soon  as 
possible.  He  did  not  wish  to  leave  Ephesus  without  this  valued 
companion,  whose  presence  had  become  a  sort  of  necessity  to 
him. 

Paul  urged  Apollos  strongly  to  join  Stephanas  and  return  to 
Corinth,  but  Apollos  preferred  to  postpone  his  departure.2 
From  this  moment,  he  is  lost  from  view.  Tradition,  never- 
theless, continues  to  regard  him  as  a  disciple  of  Paul's.3  It  is 
probable,  in  fact,  that  he  continued  his  apostolic  career,  giving 
his  Jewish  erudition  and  elegant  language  to  the  service  of 
Christian  doctrine. 

Paul,  nevertheless,  formed  boundless  projects,4  in  which  he 
imagined,  according  to  his  constant  custom  that  he  saw  direc- 
tions of  the  Spirit.  There  happened  to  Paul,  what  often 
happens  to  persons  accustomed  to  one  kind  of  activity.  He 
could  no  longer  do  without  that  which  had  been  the  occupation 


252  SAINT  PAUL. 

of  his  life.  Travelling  had  become  a  necessity  to  him.  He 
sought  occasion  for  it.  He  wished  to  revisit  Macedonia  and 
Achaia,  then  visit  Jerusalem  once  more ;  then  set  out  again  to 
attempt  new  missions  in  more  distant  countries,  and  those  until 
now  not  reached  by  the  faith, — such  as  Italy  and  Spain.5  The 
idea  of  going  to  Rome  gave  him  no  rest.6  "I  must  also  see 
Rome,"7  he  was  often  accustomed  to  say.  He  divined  that  the 
centre  of  Christianity  would  one  day  be  there ;  or,  at  least,  that 
decisive  events  would  take  place  there.  The  journey  to  Jeru- 
salem was  connected  with  another  project,  which  had  occupied 
his  mind  a  great  deal  for  a  year  back. 

In  order  to  calm  the  jealous  susceptibilities  of  the  church  of 
Jerusalem,  and  to  accede  to  one  of  the  conditions  of  the  peace 
which  was  signed  at  the  interview  in  the  year  51,"  Paul  had 
prepared  a  great  collection  in  the  churches  of  Asia  Minor  and 
Greece.  We  have  already  seen  that  one  of  the  bonds  which 
mark  the  dependence  of  provincial  churches  in  regard  to  those 
of  Judea  was  the  obligation  of  alms.  The  church  of  Jerusalem, 
partly  through  the  fault  of  those  who  composed  it,  was  always 
in  distress.  Mendicants  were  numerous  in  it.9  At  a  more  ancient 
period,  the  characteristic  feature  of  Jewish  society  had  been  its 
freedom  from  wretchedness  and  large  fortunes.  For  two  or 
three  centuries,  there  had  been  rich  men  in  Jerusalem,  conse- 
quently poor  ones.  The  true  Jew,  turning  his  back  upon 
profane  civilization,  became  from  day  to  day  more  destitute  of 
resources.  The  public  works  of  Agrippa  II.  had  filled  the  city 
with  famished  masons.  They  demolished  solely  in  order  not  to 
leave  the  thousands  of  artisans  without  work.10  The  apostles 
and  their  surroundings  suffered,  like  every  one  else,  from  this 
state  of  affairs.  It  was  necessary  that  the  suffragan  churches, 
active  and  laborious,  should  prevent  these  people  from  dying  of 
hunger."  While  supporting  with  impatience  the  pretensions 
of  the  brethren  of  Judea,  they  none  the  less  recognized  in  the 
provinces  their  supremacy  and  their  titles  of  nobility.  Paul  had 
the  highest  regard  for  them.  "You  are  their  debtors,"  said  he  to 


SAINT  PAUL.  253 

his  faithful  ones.  "If  the  Gentiles  have  been  made  partakers 
of  the  saints  of  Judea,  in  the  spiritual  order,  their  duty  is  also  to 
minister  unto  them  in  carnal  things."  ia  It  was,  moreover,  an 
imitation  of  a  custom  which  had  existed  for  a  long  time  among 
the  Jews  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  to  send  contributions  to 
Jerusalem. 1S  Paul  thought  that  a  large  offering  carried  by  him- 
self to  the  apostles  would  cause  him  to  be  better  received  by 
the  whole  college,  which  pardoned  him  with  such  difficulty  for 
performing  great  things  without  them,  and  would  be  in  the  eyes 
of  these  famished  nobles  the  best  mark  of  subordination.  How 
could  they  treat  as  schismatic  and  rebellious  those  who  gave 
proof  of  so  much  generosity,  of  such  fraternal  and  respectful 
sentiments?14 

Paul  began  to  organize  the  collection  in  the  year  56."  He 
then  wrote  about  it,  first  to  the  Corinthians,16  then  to  the.Gala- 
tians,17  and  then,  without  doubt,  to  the  other  churches.  He 
resumed  the  subject  in  his  new  letter  to  the  Corinthians.18 
There  was  moderate  wealth  in  the  churches  of  Asia  Minor  and 
Greece,  but  no  great  fortunes.  Paul  knew  the  economical 
habits  of  the  country  where  he  had  lived.  The  persistence  with 
which  he  represents  his  food  and  support  as  a  heavy  burthen, 
with  which  he  did  not  wish  to  oppress  the  churches,  proves  that 
he  too  shared  these  meagre  attentions  of  poor  people,  obliged  to 
be  careful  of  everything.  He  thought  that,  if  in  the  churches  of 
Greece  they  postponed  the  collection  till  his  arrival,  the  thing 
would  work  badly.  He  wished,  therefore,  that  on  Sunday  every 
one  should  lay  aside  a  saving  proportionate  to  his  means  for  this 
holy  purpose.  This  little  treasure  of  charity  was  to  go  on  in- 
creasing while  awaiting  his  arrival.  Then  the  churches  should 
choose  deputies,19  and  Paul  would  send  them  with  letters  of 
recommendation  to  carry  the  offering  to  Jerusalem.  Perhaps 
even,  if  the  result  should  be  worth  the  trouble,  Paul  would  go  in 
person,  and  then  the  deputies  would  accompany  him.  So  much 
honor  and  happiness,  going  to  Jerusalem,  seeing  the  apostles, 
travelling  in  company  with  Paul,  made  all  the  believers  leap  for 


254  SAINT  PAUL. 

joy.  An  emulation  in  doing  good,  wisely  excited  by  the  great 
master  in  the  art  of  directing  souls,  kept  every  one  on  the  alert. 
This  collection  was  for  months  the  thought  which  sustained  life, 
and  made  every  heart  beat. 

Timothy  soon  returned  from  Ephesus,  as  Paul  had  desired.20 
He  brought  news  subsequent  to  the  departure  of  Stephanas ;  but 
we  are  led  to  believe  that  he  had  left  the  city  before  Stephanas 
returned,  for  it  is  from  Titus  that  Paul  later  learns  the  effect 
produced  by  his  new  letter.581  The  situation  at  Corinth  was  still 
very  unfavorable.  Paul  modified  his  projects,  resolved  to 
stop  first  at  Corinth,  remain  there  a  short  while,  to  accomplish 
then  his  tour  in  Macedonia,  to  make  a  second  and  longer  stay 
at  Corinth,  and  then,  resuming  his  first  plan,  to  set  out  for 
Jerusalem,  accompanied  by  the  Corinthian  deputies.22  He 
thought  it  a  duty  to  inform  the  church  of  Corinth  immediately 
of  this  change  of  resolution.  He  charged  Titus  with  the  mes- 
sage, and  with  the  most  delicate  communications  for  the  revolted 
church.23  The  disciple  was  at  the  same  time  to  press  the 
completion  of  the  collection  ordered  by  Paul.24  Titus,  from 
what  appears,  refused  at  first.  He  feared,  like  Timothy,25  the 
reckless  and  inconsiderate  character  of  the  people  of  Corinth. 
Paul  reassured  him,  told  him  what  he  thought  of  the  qualities  of 
the  Corinthians,  extenuated  their  faults,  dared  to  promise  him  a 
good  reception.26  He  gave  him  for  a  companion  a  "brother" 
whose  name  is  unknown  to  us.27  Paul  had  reached  the  last 
days  of  his  sojourn  at  Ephesus.  Nevertheless,  it  was  agreed  that 
he  should  await  in  the  city  the  return  of  Titus. 

But  new  trials  came  to  oblige  him  to  modify  his  designs  once 
more.  Few  days  in  the  life  of  Paul  were  more  troubled  than 
these.28  For  the  fir'st  time,  he  found  the  measure  too  great,  and 
confessed  his  strength  was  gone.29  Jews,30  heathen,31  and  Chris- 
tians hostile  to  his  movements,32  appeared  conspired  against  him. 
The  situation  of  the  church  at  Corinth  gave  him  a  sort  of  fever. 
He  dispatched  thither  courier  upon  courier.  He  changed  his 
resolution  in  her  regard  every  day.  Sickness  probably  set  in : 


SAINT  PAUL.  255 

he  thought  he  was  dying.83  A  disturbance  which  took  place  at 
Ephesus  tended  still  more  to  complicate  his  situation,  and  to 
oblige  him  to  set  out  without  awaiting  the  return  of  Titus.84 

The  temple  of  Diana  offered  a  fearful  obstacle  to  the  new 
preaching.  This  gigantic  establishment,  one  of  the  wonders  of 
the  world,  was  the  life  and  the  claim  to  life  of  the  whole  city. 
By  its  enormous  riches, 3B  by  the  number  of  strangers  which  it 
attracted,  by  the  privileges  and  celebrity  which  it  gained  for  the 
city,  by  the  splendid  festivities  to  which  it  gave  rise,  by  the  call- 
ings which  it  supported.30  Superstition  had  here  the  surest  of 
guarantees,  that  of  gross  interest, —  always  so  happy  to  cover 
itself  with  the  pretext  of  religion. 

One  of  the  industries  of  the  city  of  Ephesus  was  that  of  the 
silversmiths,  who  manufactured  little  naoi  of  Diana.  Strangers 
carried  away  with  them  these  objects,  which,  afterwards  laid  upon 
their  tables  or  in  the  interior  of  their  houses,  represented  to 
them  the  celebrated  sanctuary.37  A  large  number  of  workmen 
were  employed  in  this  manner.  Like  all  artisans  living  upon 
the  piety  of  pilgrims,  these  workmen  were  very  fanatical.  To 
preach  a  religion  subversive  of  the  one  which  was  enriching 
them,  appeared  to  them  a  frightful  sacrilege.  It  was  as  if,  in 
our  day,  they  should  go  and  declaim  against  the  worship  of  the 
Virgin  at  Fourvieres,  or  at  La  Sallette.  One  of  the  ways  in 
which  they  summed  up  the  new  doctrine,  was,  "The  gods  made 
with  the  hands  of  man,  were  no  gods."  This  doctrine  had 
obtained  sufficient  publicity  in  order  to  cause  anxiety  among 
the  silversmiths.  Their  chief,  named  Demetrius,  excited  them 
to  make  a  violent  manifestation,  maintaining  above  all  that  the 
honor  of  a  temple  revered  by  Asia  and  the  whole  world,  was  at 
stake.  The  workmen  thronged  the  streets,  crying,  "Great  is 
Diana  of  the  Ephesians ! "  and  in  a  little  while  the  whole  city  was 
filled  with  confusion. 

The  crowd  rushed  into  the  theatre  —  the  usual  place  for 
assemblies.  The  theatre  of  Ephesus  —  the  immense  interior  of 
which,  despoiled  of  almost  all  its  constructions,  is  still  visible  on 


256  SAINT  PAUL. 

the  sides  of  Mount  Prion88 — was  probably  the  largest  in  the 
world.  It  is  estimated  to  have  contained  at  least  56,000  per- 
sons.39 As  the  high  seats  were  on  a  level  with  the  hill,  an  enor- 
mous crowd  could,  in  an  instant,  enter  by  the  top  and  fill 
everything.  The  lower  part  of  the  theatre,  moreover,  was 
surrounded  by  colonnades  and  porticos,  filled  with  idlers ;  it  was 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  forum,  the  market,  and  several 
gymnasia,40  and  always  open.  The  tumult  reached  its  height 
in  an  instant.  Two  Christians  of  Thessalonica,  Gaius  and 
Aristarchus,  who  had  joined  Paul  at  Ephesus,  and  attached 
themselves  to  him  as  companions,  were  in  the  hands  of  the 
rioters.  The  trouble  among  the  Christians  was  great.  Paul 
wished  to  enter  the  theatre,  and  harangue  the  people.  The 
disciples  begged  him  not  to  do  so.  A  few  of  the  asiarchs^  who 
knew  him,  also  prevailed  upon  him  not  to  commit  such  an  impru- 
dent act.  The  most  diverse  cries  were  mingled  in  the  theatre. 
Most  of  those  present  were  ignorant  of  the  cause  of  the  gather- 
ing. There  were  many  Jews,  who  put  forward  a  certain 
Alexander.42  The  latter  made  a  sign  with  his  hand  to  request 
silence ;  but,  when  they  saw  that  he  was  a  Jew,  the  confusion 
redoubled.  For  two  hours  they  did  not  cease  to  cry  out, 
"  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians ! "  It  was  with  difficulty 
that  the  town-clerk 43  succeeded  in  making  himself  heard.  He 
represented  the  honor  of  the  great  Diana  as  safe  from  any  injury ; 
persuaded  Demetrius  and  his  artisans  to  begin  a  suit  against 
those  by  whom  they  believed  themselves  wronged ;  begged  every 
one  to  return  to  his  legitimate  occupation ;  and  showed  the 
consequences  which  might  happen  to  the  city  from  such  sedi- 
tious movements,  which  could  not  be  justified  in  the  eyes  of 
the  Roman  authority.44  The  crowd  dispersed.  Paul,  who  had 
resolved  to  set  out  a  few  days  later,  did  not  wish  to  prolong 
this  perilous  situation.  He  determined  to  withdraw  as  soon  as 
possible. 

According  to  the  contents  of  the  missive  which  he  had  sent 
by  Titus  to  the  Christians  of  Corinth,  Paul  should  have  imme- 


SAINT  PAUL.  257 

diately  set  out  for  that  city.46  But  his  perplexities  were  very  great. 
His  solicitude  with  regard  to  Achaia  rendered  him  undecided. 
At  the  last  moment,  he  again  changed  his  itinerary.  The  time 
did  not  seem  propitious  to  him  to  go  to  Corinth.  He  would  have 
arrived  there  dissatisfied  and  disposed  to  harshness.48  Perhaps 
his  presence  might  provoke  a  revolt  and  a  schism.  He  did  not 
know  what  effect  his  letter  had  produced,  and  he  was  very  anxious 
about  it.47  He  deemed  himself  stronger  in  the  distance  than 
near  by.  His  person  was  in  no  wise  imposing  ;  his  letters,  on 
the  contrary,  were  his  triumph.48  Generally  speaking,  men  of  a 
timid  disposition  prefer  writing  to  speaking.  He  therefore  pre- 
ferred not  to  go  to  Corinth  until  having  seen  Titus  again ;  but 
to  write  once  more  to  the  intractable  church.  Thinking  that 
severity  could  be  better  exercised  from  the  distance,  he  trusted 
that  his  new  letter  would  bring  his  adversaries  to  better  feel- 
ings.49 Thus  the  apostle  resumed  his  first  plan  of  travelling.60 
He  caused  the  faithful  to  assemble  ;  took  leave  of  them ;  gave 
directions  when  Titus  should  arrive  to  send  him  to  Troas; 
and  set  out  for  Macedonia,51  accompanied  by  Timothy.  Proba- 
bly he  then  associated  with  himself  the  two  deputies  of  Ephesus, 
Tychicus  and  Trophimus,62  commissioned  to  carry  the  offering 
of  Asia  to  Jerusalem.  It  must  have  been  in  the  month  of  June, 
year  57."  The  sojourn  of  Paul  at  Ephesus  had  lasted  three 
years.64 

During  so  long  an  apostolate,  he  had  had  the  time  to  give  this 
church  a  solidity  capable  of  resisting  every  shock.  Ephesus 
will  henceforth  be  one  of  the  metropoles  of  Christianity,  and  the 
point  where  its  most  important  transformations  will  be  effected. 
This  church,  however,  was  far  from  being  Paul's,  like  the 
churches  of  Macedonia  and  the  church  of  Corinth.  Others  beside 
him  had  worked  at  Ephesus.  He  surely  had  enemies  "  there ; 
and,  in  ten  years,  we  shall  see  the  church  of  Ephesus  cited  as  a 
model,  for  having  given  their  due  to  "those  who  call  them- 
selves apostles,  and  are  not ; "  for  having  unmasked  their  impos- 
ture; and  for  the  energetic  hatred  borne  the  "  Nicolaitanes,"  — 
22* 


258  SAINT  PAUL. 

that  is  to  say,  the  disciples  of  Paul.66     The  Jewish-Christian 

doubtless  existed  at  Ephesus  from  the  first  day. 
Aquila  and  Priscilla,  the  collaborators  of  Paul,  continued 
after  his  departure  to  be  the  centre  of  the  church.  Their  house, 
where  the  apostle  had  resided,  was  the  gathering-place  of  all  the 
most  pious  and  most  zealous.57  Paul  took  pleasure  in  praising 
the  merits  of  this  respectable  couple  everywhere,  and  acknow- 
ledged that  he  owed  his  life  to  them.  All  Paul's  churches,  on 
this  account,  held  them  in  great  veneration.  Epenetes,  the 
first  Ephesian  who  was  converted,  came  after  them ; B8  then  a 
certain  Mary,  who  appears  to  have  been  a  deaconess,  an  active 
and  devoted  woman ; 59  then  Urbanus,  whom  Paul  calls  his 
"helper";60  then  Apelles,  to  whom  Paul  gives  the  title  of 
'approved  in  Christ";61  then  Rufus,  "chosen  in  the  Lord,"  who 
had  an  aged  mother,  called,  out  of  respect,  by  the  apostle,  "  my 
mother."62  Besides  Mary,  other  women,  true  sisters  of  charity, 
had  devoted  themselves  to  the  service  of  the  faithful.  There 
were  Tryphena  and  Tryphosa,63  "  good  laborers  in  the  work 
of  the  Lord";  then  Persis,  especially  dear  to  Paul,  and  who  had 
labored  bravely  with  him.64  There  wras  still  Apipliatus  or  Am- 
plias,65  the  Jew  Herodion,66  Stachys,  beloved  by  Paul ;  a  church 
or  conventicle  composed  of  Asyncritus,  Hermes,  Patrobas,  Her- 
nias, and  others ; 67  another  church,  or  little  society,  composed 
of  Philologus,  Julia,  Nereus  and  "his  sister"  (that  is  to  say, 
probably,  his  wife), 68  Olympas,  and  several  others.69  Two  large 
households  of  Ephesus,  those  of  Aristobulus 70  and  Narcissus,71 
numbered  several  faithful  among  their  slaves.  Finally,  two 
Ephesians,  Tychichus 72  and  Trophimus,73  had  attached  them- 
selves to  the  apostle,  and  were  henceforth  of  the  number  of  his 
disciples.  Andronicus  and  Junia  were  about  this  time  at 
Ephesus.  They  were  members  of  the  primitive  church  of 
Jerusalem.74  St.'  Paul  had  the  greatest  respect  for  them, 
"  because  they  were  in  Christ  before  him."  He  calls  them  "  of 
note  among  the  apostles."  In  a  circumstance  of  which  we  are 
ignorant,  probably  in  the  ordeal  which  Paul  calls  "his  fight 
with  beasts,"  they  shared  his  prison.76 


SAINT  PAUL.  259 

In  a  much  more  doubtful  light  appear  Artemus,  said  to  have 
been  Paul's  companion,"  Alexander  the  coppersmith,  Hy- 
meneus,  Philetes,"  Phygeleus,78  Hermogenes,  who  appear  to 
have  left  bad  recollections,  provoked  schisms  or  excommunica- 
tions, and  to  have  been  considered  as  traitors  in  the  school  of 
Paul 79  and  Onesiphorus80  and  his  household,  who,  on  the  con- 
trary, must  have  shown  themselves,  upon  more  than  one  occa- 
sion, full  of  friendship  and  devotion  towards  the  apostle.81 

Several  of  the  names  just  enumerated  are  the  names  of  slaves, 
as  may  be  seen  by  their  strange  signification,  or  from  the  ironi- 
cal emphasis,  which  makes  them  resemble  those  grotesque 
names  which  they  take  pleasure  in  giving  negroes  in  the  colo- 
nies.83 It  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  there  were  many  persons  of 
servile  condition  among  the  Christians.83  Slavery,  in  many 
cases,  did  not  necessitate  so  complete  a  bond  to  the  master's 
house  as  our  modern  slavery.  Slaves  of  certain  categories  were 
free  to  visit  each  other ;  to  associate  in  a  certain  measure ;  to 
establish  brotherhoods,  species  of  tontines  and  assessments, 
with  consideration  to  their  funerals.84  It  is  not  impossible  that 
several  of  those  men  and  those  pious  women  who  devoted 
themselves  to  the  service  of  the  church,  were  slaves,  and  that 
the  hours  which  they  gave  to  the  deaconry  were  those  granted 
them  by  their  masters.  At  the  period  in  which  these  events  are 
taking  place,  the  servile  condition  contained  polished,  resigned, 
virtuous,  enlightened,  and  well-bred  people.85  The  highest  lessons 
of  morality  came  from  slaves.  Epictetus  passed  a  large  portion 
of  his  life  in  slavery.  The  stoics  and  the  sages,  like  St.  Paul, 
said  to  the  slave,  "  Remain  what  thou  art ;  do  not  think  of  freeing 
thyself."81  We  must  not  judge  the  popular  classes  of  the  Greek 
cities  by  our  populace  of  the  middle  ages,  —  stupid,  brutal,  boor- 
ish, and  incapable  of  distinction.  Whatever  of  fine,  delicate,  and 
polished,  that  we  detect  in  the  relations  of  the  primitive  Chris- 
tians,87 is  atradition  of  Greek  elegance.  The  humble  artisans  of 
Ephesus,  whom  St.  Paul  salutes  with  so  much  cordiality,  were 
doubtless  agreeable  persons,  of  strict  uprightness,  distinguished  by 


260  SAINT  PAUL. 

excellent  manners,  and  that  peculiar  charm  which  exists  in  the 
politeness  of  the  lower  classes.  Their  serenity  of  soul,  their  con- 
tentment,88 were  like  unceasing  predication.  "  See  how  they  love 
each  other  !"89  was  the  exclamation  of  the  heathen,  surprised  at 
this  innocent,  tranquil  air,  this  profound  and  winning  gayety.90 
Next  to  the  preaching  of  Jesus,  this  is  the  divine  work  of  Chris- 
tianity. It  is  its  second  miracle,  —  a  miracle  drawn  in  reality 
from  the  active  workings  of  humanity,  and  from  what  is  best  and 
glorious  in  it. 


SAINT  PAUL.  261 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

CONTINUATION  OF  THE  THIRD   MISSION. — SECOND   SOJOURN   OF 
PAUL   IN   MACEDONIA. 

UPON  leaving  Ephesus,  Paul  probably  went  by  land,  at  least 
for  a  part  of  the  way.1  In  fact,  he  had  calculated  that  Titus,  by 
going  by  water  from  Ephesus  to  Troas,  would  reach  the  latter 
point  before  him.3  This  calculation  did  not  hold  true.  Having 
reached  Troas  he  did  not  find  Titus  there,  a  fact  which  caused 
him  great  disappointment.  Paul  had  already  passed  by  way  of 
Troas,  but  it  appears  had  never  preached  there.8  This  time  he 
found  the  opportunity  very  favorable.4  Troas  was  a  Latin  city 
of  the  style  of  Antioch  of  Pisidia  and  PhilippL*  A  certain  Car- 
pus received  the  apostle,  and  entertained  him.6  Paul  employed 
the  days  during  which  he  was  waiting  for  Titus,  to  establish  a 
church.7  He  succeeded  admirably;  for  a  few  days  afterwards 
a  company  of  the  faithful  conducted  him  to  the  shore  when  he 
set  out  for  Macedonia.8  About  five  years  ago  he  had  em- 
barked at  this  same  port  at  the  word  of  a  Macedonian  man, 
whom  he  had  seen  in  a  dream.  Assuredly  no  dream  ever 
advised  greater  things  or  brought  about  grander  results. 

This  second  sojourn  of  Paul  in  Macedonia9  may  have  lasted 
about  six  months,  from  June  to  November,  57.10  Paul  occupied 
all  this  time  in  strengthening  his  dear  churches.  His  principal 
residence  was  Thessalonica.  He  must,  nevertheless,  have  also 
remained  some  time  at  Philippi11  and  Berea.12  The  tribulations 
which  had  filled  the  last  months  of  his  sojourn  at  Ephesus, 
seemed  to  pursue  him,  at  least  for  the  first  days  after  his  arri- 
val. He  had  no  repose.  His  life  was  a  continual  struggle; 
the  gravest  apprehensions  filled  his  mind.13  These  cares  and 
these  afflictions  surely  did  not  come  from  the  churches  of  Mace- 
donia. There  were  no  churches  more  perfect,  more  generous, 


262  SAINT  PAUL. 

more  devoted  to  the  apostle.  Nowhere  had  he  met  with  so 
much  affection,  nobleness,  and  simplicity.14 

There  were  a  few  bad  Christians  there,  sensual,  and  attached 
to  the  world,  in  regard  to  whom  the  apostle  expressed  himself 
with  a  great  deal  of  sharpness,15  calling  them  "enemies  of  the 
cross  of  Christ,  whose  God  is  their  belly,  and  whose  glory  is 
their  shame,"  and  upon  whom  he  calls  down  eternal  destruction ; 
but  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  even  belonged  to  the  flock  of 
Paul.  It  was  from  the  church  of  Corinth  that  proceeded  his 
greatest  anxieties.  He  feared  more  and  more  lest  his  letter 
should  have  irritated  the  indifferent,  and  encouraged  his  enemies. 

Titus  rejoined  him  at  last,  and  consoled  him  in  all  his  disap- 
pointments.16 He  brought  him  in  the  main  good  news,  although 
the  clouds  were  far  from  being  dissipated.  The  letter  had  pro- 
duced the  profoundest  effect.  Upon  reading  it,  the  disciples  of 
Paul  had  burst  out  into  sobs.  Almost  all  had  assured  Titus,  with 
tears  in  their  eyes,  of  the  profound  affection  which  they  bore  the 
apostle ;  of  their  regret  in  having  afflicted  him ;  of  their  desire  to 
see  him  again,  and  to  obtain  pardon  from  him.  These  Greek 
natures,  fickle  and  inconstant,  returned  to  the  good  with  the  same 
readiness  that  they  had  abandoned  it.  There  was  fear  mingled 
with  their  feelings.  They  supposed  the  apostle  to  be  armed 
with  terrible  powers.17  Before  his  threats,  all  those  who  owed 
him  faith  trembled  and  strove  to  exculpate  themselves.  Their 
indignation  against  the  guilty  was  boundless.  Each  one  strove 
by  zeal  against  the  latter  to  justify  himself,  and  to  turn  away  the 
severity  of  the  apostle.18  Titus  was  overwhelmed  with  the  most 
delicate  attentions  by  the  faithful  ones  of  Paul.  He  returned 
enchanted  with  the  reception  accorded  him, — with  the  fervor, 
docility,  and  good-will  which  he  had  found  in  the  spiritual  family 
of  his  master.19  The  collection  was  not  much  advanced,  but 
there  was  hope  that  it  would  be  fruitful.20  The  sentence  pro- 
nounced against  the  incestuous  one  had  been  made  milder ;  or 
rather  Satan,  to  whom  Paul  had  delivered  him,  did  not  execute 
the  sentence.  The  sinner  continued  to  live,  and  what  was  but 


SAINT  PAUL.  263 

the  simple  course  of  nature  they  attributed  to  an  indulgence 
granted  by  the  apostle.  They  did  not  even  absolutely  drive 
him  out  of  the  church,  but  they  avoided  associating  with  him." 
Titus  had  conducted  this  whole  affair  with  an  extreme  prudence, 
and  as  skillfully  as  Paul  could  have  done  himself."  The  apostle 
never  experienced  more  unmingled  joy  than  upon  receiving 
these  tidings.  During  several  days  he  was  beside  himself.  At 
one  moment,  he  repented  having  grieved  such  good  souls ;  then, 
seeing  the  admirable  effect  which  his  severity  had  produced, 
he  was  overwhelmed  with  joy.23  . 

This  joy,  however,  was  not  complete.  His  enemies  were  far 
from  yielding.  His  letter  had  exasperated  them,  and  they  criti- 
cised it  very  strictly.  They  pointed  out  those  portions  severe  and 
harsh  towards  the  church.  They  accused  the  apostle  of  pride  and 
boasting.  "His  letters,"  they  said,  "are  severe  and  energetic, 
but  his  person  is  insignificant,  and  his  word  without  authority." 
His  rigor  towards  the  incestuous  one  was  attributed  to  personal 
hatred.  They  looked  upon  him  as  a  foolish  and  extravagant  man, 
extremely  vain,  and  without  tact.  The  changes  in  his  plans  of 
travelling  were  represented  as  fickleness.34  Moved,  by  these  two- 
fold tidings,  the  apostle  began  to  dictate  to  Timothy25  a  new 
letter,  destined  on  one  hand  to  soften  the  effect  of  the  first,  and 
to  express  to  his  dear  church,  which  he  thought  he  had  grieved, 
his  paternal  feelings;  on  the  other,  to  reply  to  the  adversaries 
who  had,  for  a  moment,  almost  succeeded  in  robbing  him  of  the 
hearts  of  his  children. 

In  the  midst  of  the  numberless  disappointments  which  had 
assailed  him  for  several  months,  the  faithful  ones  of  Corinth  are 
his  consolation  and  his  glory.28  If  he  changed  the  plan  of  his 
journey,  which  he  had  communicated  to  them  by  Titus,  and 
which,  by  taking  him  twice  to  Corinth,  had  permitted  him  to 
afford  them  a  double  pleasure,  it  was  not  through  lightness;27 
it  was  out  of  regard  for  them,  and  in  order  not  to  show  them 
always  a  mournful  countenance.  "  For  if  I  make  you  sorry,"  adds 
he,  "who  is  he  then  that  maketh  me  glad,  but  the  same  which  is 


264  SAINT  PAUL. 

made  sorry  by  me."28  He  had  written  them  his  last  letter  with  tears 
and  broken  heart,  but  now  all  is  forgotten :  he  hardly  remembers 
that  he  has  been  displeased.  At  times  he  is  repentant,  thinking 
that  he  has  grieved  them ;  then  seeing  what  fruits  of  penitence 
this  affliction  has  produced,  he  can  no  longer  repent.  Sorrow, 
according  to  God,  is  salutary;  sorrow,  according  to  the  world, 
brings  death.29  Perhaps  also,  he  was  very  severe.  As  regards 
the  incestuous  one,  for  instance,  the  shame  which  he  had  under- 
gone is  a  sufficient  chastisement.  They  should  rather  console 
hjm,  lest  he  should  die  of  sorrow.  Such  as  he  is,  he  has  still 
claim  to  charity.  The  apostle,  therefore,  confirms  most  wil- 
lingly the  mitigation  of  punishment.  If  he  has  shown  himself 
so  severe,  it  was  only  to  test  the  docility  of  his  faithful  ones.30 
Now  he  sees  well  that  he  had  not  put  too  much  dependence 
upon  them.  Everything  favorable  which  he  said  to  Titus  about 
them  has  been  verified.  They  were  not  willing  that  their  apostle, 
whose  glory  comes  from  them  alone,  should  be  confounded.31 

As  to  his  enemies,  Paul  knows  that  he  has  not  disarmed  them. 
At  each  instant  there  are  animated  and  pointed  allusions  to 
those  people  who  "corrupt82  the  word  of  God;"83  above  all,  to 
those  letters  of  commendation  of  which  a  bad  use  had  been 
made  against  him.34  His  enemies  are  false  apostles,  deceitful 
workers,  who  transform  themselves  into  apostles  of  Christ. 
Satan  sometimes  transforms  himself  into  an  angel  of  light ;  are 
we  to  wonder  if  his  ministers  transform  themselves  into  ministers 
of  righteousness  ?  Their  end  will  be  according  to  their  works.35 
They  pretend  that  he  has  not  known  Christ.  He  does  not  agree 
to  it ;  for  him,  his  vision  on  the  road  to  Damascus  was  a  real, 
personal  relation  with  Jesus.  But,  after  all,  of  what  importance 
is  it  since  Christ  is  dead, — all  are  dead  with  Christ  after  the 
flesh.  As  for  him,  henceforth,  he  knows  no  man  after  the  flesh. 
If  he  ever  knew  Christ  in  that  manner,  he  knows  him  no  longer.36 
They  should  not  oblige  him  to  change  his  character.  When  he 
is  among  them  he  is  meek,  timid,  and  perplexed,  but  they  should 
not  oblige  him  to  use  arms,  which  have  been  given  him  to  de- 


SAINT  PAUL.  265 

stroy  every  fortress  opposed  to  Christ,  to  demolish  every  height 
which  is  raised  against  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  to  subject 
every  thought  to  the  yoke  of  Jesus.  It  will  be  perceived  that 
he  knows  how  to  punish  disobedience.  Those  who  say  that  they 
are  Christ's,  should  think  that  he  too  is  of  the  school  of  Christ. 
Would  they  oblige  him  to  use  the  powers  which  the  Lord  had 
given  him  for  destruction,  instead  of  edification?  They  had 
undertaken  to  make  the  Corinthians  believe  that  he  sought  to 
terrify  them  by  his  letters.  Let  those  who  use  this  language  take 
care  lest  they  force  him  to  be  with  them  in  deed  such  as  his 
letters  are  in  word.  He  is  not  of  the  number  of  those  people 
who  commend  themselves  and  who  go  about  from  one  place 
to  another  with  their  letters  of  commendation.  His  letter  of 
commendation  is  the  church  of  Corinth.  He  carries  this  letter 
in  his  heart.  It  is  legible  for  all :  it  is  not  written  with  ink,  but 
by  the  spirit  of  the  living  God ;  not  upon  tablets  of  stone,  but 
upon  the  tablets  of  the  heart.  He  only  measures  himself  by 
his  own  measure;  he  only  compares  himself  to  himself.  He 
only  arrogates  authority  over  the  churches  which  he  has  founded. 
He  is  not  like  those  people  who  wish  to  extend  their  power 
over  countries  where  they  have  not  been  in  person,  and  who, 
after  having  yielded  to  him  (Paul)  the  gospel  of  circumcision, 
come  now  to  gather  the  fruit  of  the  work  which  they  at  first 
opposed.  Each  one  upon  his  own  ground.  He  has  no  need 
of  boasting  of  the  works  of  others,  nor  of  commending  himself 
beyond  measure;  the  portion  which  God  has  bestowed  upon 
him  is  beautiful  enough,  since  it  has  been  given  him  to  carry  the 
gospel  as  far  as  Corinth,  and  he  still  hopes  to  go  further.  But 
it  is  in  the  Lord  that  he  must  glory.87 

This  modesty  was  not  feigned.  But  it  is  difficult  for  the  man 
of  action  to  be  modest ;  he  runs  a  risk  of  being  taken  at  his  word. 
That  apostle  the  most  free  from  all  egotism  is  unceasingly  led 
to  speak  of  himself.  He  may  call  himself  an  abortion,  the  least 
of  saints,88  the  last  of  apostles,  unworthy  of  this  name  since 
23 


266  SAINT  PAUL. 

he  has  persecuted  the  church  of  God;  but  do  not  believe  that 
he  on  this  account  abdicates  his  prerogative. 

"But  by  the  grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am :  and  his  grace 
which  was  bestowed  upon  me  was  not  in  vain ;  but  I  labored 
more  abundantly  than  they  all :  yet  not  I,  but  the  grace  of  God 
which  was  with  me.39  .  .  . 

"  For  I  suppose  I  was  not  a  whit  behind  the  very  chiefest 
apostles.40 

"  But  though  I  be  rude  in  speech,  yet  not  in  knowledge ;  but 
we  have  been  thoroughly  made  manifest  among  you  in  all 
things. 

"  Have  I  committed  an  offence  in  abasing  myself  that  ye 
might  be  exalted,  because  I  have  preached  to  you  the  gospel 
of  God  freely? 

"  I  robbed  other  churches,  taking  wages  of  them,  to  do  you 
service. 

"And  when  I  was  present  with  you,  and  wanted,  I  was  charge- 
able to  no  man :  for  that  which  was  lacking  to  me  the  brethren 
which  came  from  Macedonia  supplied :  and  in  all  things  I  have 
kept  myself  from  being  burdensome  unto  you,  and  so  will  I  keep 
myself. 

"As  the  truth  of  Christ  is  in  me,  no  man  shall  stop  me  of  this 
boasting  in  the  regions  of  Achaia. 

"Wherefore?  because  I  love  you  not?     God  knoweth. 

"But  what  I  do,  that  I  will  do,  that  I  may  cut  off  occasion 
from  them  which  desire  occasion ;  that  wherein  they  glory,  they 
may  be  found  even  as  we." 4 

Arming  himself  with  the  accusation  of  folly  which  his  adver- 
saries raised  against  him,  he  accepts  for  the  moment  the  char- 
acter assigned  him ;  and  under  the  mask  of  oratorical  irony  he 
plays  the  fool,  in  order  to  hurl  the  most'1  daring  truths  into  the 
faces  of  his  adversaries  :42 — 

"Would  to  God  ye  could  bear  with  me  a  little  in  my  folly: 
and  indeed  bear  with  me. 

"  For  ye  surfer  fools  gladly,  seeing  ye  yourselves  are  wise. 


SAINT  PAUL.  267 

"For  ye  suffer,  if  a  man  bring  you  into  bondage,  if  a  man  de- 
vour you,  if  a  man  take  of  you,  if  a  man  exalt  himself,  if  a  man 
smite  you  on  the  face. 

"I  speak  as  concerning  reproach,  as  though  we  had  been 
weak.  Howbeit,  whereinsoever  any  is  bold  (I  speak  foolishly) 
I  am  bold  also. 

"Are  they  Hebrews?  so  am  I.  Are  they  Israelites?  so  am 
I.  Are  they  the  seed  of  Abraham  ?  so  am  I. 

"Are  they  ministers  of  Christ?  (I  speak  as  a  fool,)  I  am  more ; 
in  labors  more  abundant,  in  stripes  above  measure,  in  prisons 
more  frequent,  in  deaths  oft. 

"Of  the  Jews  five  times  received  I  forty  stripes  save  one. 

"Thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods,  once  was  I  stoned,  thrice  I 
suffered  shipwreck,  a  night  and  a  day  I  have  been  in  the  deep ; 

"  In  journeyings  often,  in  perils  of  waters,  in  perils  of  robbers, 
in  perils  by  mine  own  countrymen,  in  perils  by  the  heathen,  in 
perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils  in  the  sea, 
in  perils  among  false  brethren ; 

"  In  weariness  and  painfulness,  in  watchings  often,  in  hunger 
and  thirst,  in  fastings  often,  in  cold  and  nakedness. 

"Beside  those  things  that  are  without,  that  which  cometh 
upon  me  daily,  the  care  of  all  the  churches. 

"Who  is  weak,  and  I  am  not  weak?  who  is  offended,  and  I 
burn  not  ? 

"  If  I  must  needs  glory,  I  will  glory  of  the  things  which  con- 
cern mine  infirmities.  .  .  . 

"  It  is  not  expedient  for  me  doubtless  to  glory.  I  will  come 
to  visions  and  revelations  of  the  Lord.43 

"  Most  gladly  therefore  will  I  rather  glory  in  my  infirmities, 
that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me. 

"Therefore  I  take  pleasure  in  infirmities,  in  reproaches,  in 
necessities,  in  persecutions,  in  distresses,  for  Christ's  sake,  for 
when  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong. 

"  I  am  become  a  fool  in  glorying ;  ye  have  compelled  me :  for 


268  SAINT  PAUL. 

I  ought  to  have  been  commended  of  you :  for  in  nothing  am  I 
behind  the  very  chiefest  apostles,  though  I  be  nothing. 

"Truly  the  signs  of  an  apostle  were  wrought  among  you  in 
all  patience,  in  signs,  and  wonders,  and  mighty  deeds. 

"  For  what  is  it  wherein  ye  were  inferior  to  other  churches, 
except  it  be  that  I  myself  was  not  burdensome  to  you  ?  forgive 
this  wrong. 

"Behold  the  third  time44  I  am  ready  to  come  to  you;  and  I 
will  not  be  burdensome  to  you :  for  I  seek  not  yours,  but  you : 
for  the  children  ought  not  to  lay  up  for  the  parents,  but  the 
parents  for  the  children. 

"And  I  will  very  gladly  spend  and  be  spent  for  you;  though 
the  more  abundantly  I  love  you,  the  less  I  be  loved. 

"But  be  it  so,  I  did  not  burden  you:  nevertheless,  being 
crafty,  I  caught  you  with  guile. 

"  Did  I  make  a  gain  of  you  by  any  of  them  whom  I  sent  unto 
you? 

"I  desired  Titus,  and  with  him  I  sent  a  brother.  Did  Titus 
make  a  gain  of  you  ?  walked  we  not  in  the  same  spirit  ?  walked 
we  not  in  the  same  steps  ? 

"For  I  fear,  lest,  when  I  come,  I  shall  not  find  you  such  as  I 
would,  and  that  I  shall  be  found  unto  you  such  as  ye  would 
not :  lest  there  be  debates,  envyings,  wraths,  strifes,  backbitings, 
whisperings,  swellings,  tumults : 

"And  lest,  when  I  come  again,  my  God  will  humble  me  among 
you,  and  that  I  shall  bewail  many  which  have  sinned  already, 
and  have  not  repented  of  the  uncleanness  and  fornication  and 
lasciviousness  which  they  have  committed. 

"This  is  the  third  time  I  am  coming  to  you. 

"  I  told  you  before,  and  foretell  you,  as  if  I  were  present,  the 
second  time ;  and  being  absent  now  I  write  to  them  which  here- 
tofore have  sinned,  and  to  all  other,  that,  if  I  come  again,  I  will 
not  spare : 

"Since  ye  seek  a  proof  of  Christ  speaking  in  me, 

"Therefore  I  write  these  things  being  absent,  lest  being  present 


SAINT    PAUL.  269 

I  should  use  sharpness,  according  to  the  power  which  the  Lord 
hath  given  me."  45 

Paul,  it  will  be  seen,  was  entering  into  that  great  condition 
of  exaltation  in  which  the  religious  founders  of  the  first  order 
lived.  He  regarded  his  idea  as  inseparable  from  himself.  The 
manner  in  which  the  collection  for  the  poor  of  Jerusalem  was 
being  carried  out  afforded  him  consolation  at  this  moment. 
Macedonia  displayed  an  exemplary  zeal  in  this  respect.  Those 
excellent  souls  gave  with  a  joy,  with  an  eagerness,  which  de- 
lighted the  apostle.  Almost  all  the  members  of  the  sect  had 
suffered  in  their  little  fortune,  from  the  fact  of  having  adhered  to 
the  new  doctrine.  But  their  poverty  knew  how  to  find  an  excess 
for  a  work  commended  by  the  apostle.  The  hopes  of  Paul 
were  surpassed.  The  faithful  ones  even  prayed  that  Paul  should 
accept  the  little  savings  which  they  had  made  by  force  of  priva- 
tions. They  would  have  given  themselves,  if  the  apostle  would 
have  accepted  them.48  Paul,  carrying  delicacy  to  an  almost 
exaggerated  extent,  and  wishing,  as  he  said,  to  be  irreproachable 
not  only  before  God,  but  before  man,47  exacted  that  deputies 
should  be  chosen  by  election  to  carry  the  offering  of  each  church, 
carefully  sealed,48  in  order  to  destroy  all  suspicions  which  male- 
volence might  cause  to  rest  upon  him,  from  the  fact  of  handling 
considerable  sums  of  money.  These  deputies  already  followed 
him  everywhere,  and  formed  around  him  a  sort  of  escort  of 
adjutants  always  ready  to  execute  his  missions.  It  was  these 
whom  he  called  "envoys  of  the  churches,"  "the  glory  of 
Christ."49  The  skillfulness,  the  suppleness  of  language,  the 
epistolary  talent  of  Paul,  were  all  employed  in  this  work.  In 
order  to  recommend  it  to  the  Corinthians  he  made  use  of  the 
most  animated  and  tender  expressions.50  He  orders  nothing, 
but  knowing  their  charity,  he  allows  himself  to  give  them  advice. 
It  was  a  year  since  they  commenced ;  it  was  now  determined  to 
conclude  it ;  good-will  was  not  sufficient.  It  is  not  a  question 
of  putting  one's  self  into  straitened  circumstances  in  order  to 
put  others  in  easy  ones :  the  rule  in  such  a  case  is  equality,  or 
23* 


270  SAINT  PAUL. 

rather  reciprocity.  For  the  moment,  the  Corinthians  are  rich, 
and  the  saints  of  Jerusalem  are  poor :  it  is  for  the  former  to 
assist  the  latter,  the  latter  will  assist  the  former  in  their  turn. 
Thus  the  word  will  be  verified,  "He  that  gathered  much  had 
nothing  over,  and  he  that  gathered  little  had  no  lack."5,  Paul 
entreated  the  faithful  Titus  to  return  to  Corinth,  and  there  con- 
tinue the  ministry  of  charity  which  he  had  begun  so  well.  Titus 
desired  this  mission,  and  received  it  with  eagerness.62  The  apos- 
tle gave  him  two  companions,  whose  names  are  unknown  to 
us.  One  was  of  the  number  of  the  deputies  chosen  to  carry  the 
offering  of  Macedonia  to  Jerusalem.  "His  praise,"  said  Paul, 
"is  in  the  gospel  throughout  all  the  churches."  The  other  was 
a  brother  "whom  Paul  had  oftentimes  proved  diligent  in  many 
things,  but  now  much  more  diligent,  upon  the  great  confidence 
which  he  had  in  the  church  of  Corinth."53  None  of  these  indi- 
cations are  sufficient  to  decide  who  is  meant.64  Paul  entreats 
the  Corinthians  to  keep  the  good  reputation  which  he  has  en- 
deavored to  give  these  three  persons  concerning  them,56  and  in 
order  to  excite  their  generosity,  employs  pleasant  little  tactics 
which  make  us  smile. 

"For  I  know  the  forwardness  of  your  mind,  for  which  I  boast 
of  you  to  them  of  Macedonia,  that  Achaia  was  ready  a  year  ago ; 
and  your  zeal  hath  provoked  very  many. 

"  Yet  have  I  sent  the  brethren,  lest  our  boasting  of  you  should 
be  in  vain  in  this  behalf;  that  as  I  said,  ye  may  be  ready : 

"  Lest  haply  if  they  of  Macedonia  come  with  me,  and  find  you 
unprepared,  we  (that  we  say  not,  ye)  should  be  ashamed  in  this 
same  confident  boasting. 

"Therefore  I  thought  it  necessary  to  exhort  the  brethren,  that 
they  would  go  before  unto  you,  and  make  up  beforehand  your 
bounty,  whereof  ye  had  notice  before,  that  the  same  might  be 
ready,  as  a  matter  of  bounty,  and  not  as  of  covetousness. 

"  But  this  I  say,  He  which  soweth  sparingly  shall  reap  also 
sparingly;  and  he  which  soweth  bountifully,  shall  reap  also 
bountifully. 


SAINT  PAUL.  271 

"  Every  man  according  as  he  purposeth  in  his  heart,  so  let  him 
give ;  not  grudgingly,  or  of  necessity ;  for  God  loveth  a  cheerful 
giver.60  .  .  . 

"Now  he  that  ministereth  seed  to  the  sower  both  minister 
bread  for  your  food.  .  .  . 

"  For  the  administration  of  this  service  not  only  supplieth  the 
want  of  the  saints,  but  is  abundant  also  by  many  thanksgivings 
unto  God; 

"While  by  the  experiment  of  this  ministration  they  glorify  God 
for  your  professed  subjection  unto  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  for 
your  liberal  distribution  unto  them,  and  unto  all  men ; 

"And  by  their  prayer  for  you,  which  long  after  you  for  the 
exceeding  grace  of  God  in  you. 

"Thanks  be  unto  God  for  his  unspeakable  gift." 

The  letter  was  carried  to  Corinth  by  Titus  and  the  two 
brothers  who  accompanied  him.67  Paul  still  remained  several 
months  in  Macedonia.  The  times  were  very  severe.  There 
was  scarcely  a  church  which  had  not  to  struggle  against  ever- 
recurring  difficulties.68  Patience  is  the  "recommendation  which 
the  apostle  most  frequently  makes  use  of.  "Afflictions,  neces- 
sities, distresses,  stripes,  imprisonments,  tumults,  watchings, 
fastings,  pureness,  long-suffering,  kindness,  unfeigned  love,  be- 
hold our  life  ;  sometimes  honored,  sometimes  dishonored,  some- 
times slandered,  sometimes  praised,  taken  for  deceivers  and  yet 
true,  for  unknown  and  yet  well-known  (to  God),  as  dying  and 
behold  we  live,  for  people  whom  God  chastens  and  not  killed,  as 
sorrowful  yet  always  rejoicing,  as  poor  yet  making  many  rich,  as 
having  nothing  and  yet  possessed  of  all  things."69  Joy,  concord, 
and  boundless  hope,  made  the  suffering  seem  light,  and  inaugu- 
rated that  delightful  reign  of  the  "God  of  love  and  peace"60 
whom  Jesus  had  announced.  Through  a  thousand  littlenesses, 
the  spirit  of  Jesus  shed  its  rays  upon  these  groups  of  saints 
with  wonderful  beauty  and  mildness. 


272  SAINT  PAUL. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

CONTINUATION   OF  THE  THIRD  MISSION. SECOND  SOJOURN   OF 

PAUL  AT  CORINTH. THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS. 

PAUL,  according  to  our  calculation,  set  out  from  Macedonia 
and  went  to  Greece  at  the  end  of  November,  or  commence- 
ment of  December,  in  the  year  5  7.  He  had  with  him  the  dele- 
gates chosen  by  the  church  of  Macedonia  to  accompany  him 
to  Jerusalem  and  carry  the  alms  of  the  faithful ;  among  others 
Sopater  or  Sosipater,  son  of  Pyrrhus  of  Berea,  a  certain  Lucius, 
a  certain  Tertius,  Aristarchus,  and  Secundus  of  Thessalonica. 1 
Jason  of  Thessalonica,  his  host  upon  the  occasion  of  his  first 
journey,  accompanied  him  also,  it  seems.2  In  conclusion,  per- 
haps the  deputies  of  Asia,  Tychicus  and  Trophimus,  of  Ephe- 
sus,  and  Gaius  of  Derbe  were  already  with  him.3  Timothy 
toward  this  period  did  not  leave  him.4  All  these  formed  a  sort 
of  apostolic  caravan  of  a  very  imposing  aspect.  When  they 
had  rejoined  Titus  and  the  two  other  brethren  who  had  accom- 
panied the  former  to  Corinth,  Corinth  truly  possessed  all  the 
elite  of  the  new  movement.  Paul,  conformably  to  his  first  plan, 
which  he  had  several  times  modified,  but  which  he  after  all  exe- 
cuted in  its  essential  parts,  passed  the  three  months  of  the  win- 
ter  57-58  in  this  city  (December  57,  January  and  February 
58).°  The  church  of  Athens  was  so  inconsiderable  that  Paul, 
according  to  all  appearances,  did  not  visit  it,  or  at  least  scarcely 
stopped  there. 

The  apostle,  no  longer  having  at  his  disposal  the  pious  hospi- 
tality of  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  lodged  this  time  with  Gaius,  whose 
house  served  for  the  reunions  of  the  entire  church,  and  to  whom 
a  bond,  considered  then  very  sacred,  attached  him.0  Stephanas 
was  probably  dead  or  absent.  At  Corinth  he  always  practiced 
a  great  deal  of  reserve,  for  he  did  not  feel  himself  upon  a  very 


SAINT  PAUL.  273 

sure  ground.  Seeing  the  danger  presented  by  mingling  in  the 
society  of  so  corrupt  a  city,  he  at  times  returned  to  his  broad 
principles,  and  counselled  and  advised  them  to  entirely  avoid 
relations  with  the  heathen.7  The  welfare  of  souls  at  a  given 
moment  was  his  only  precaution,  the  only  design  he  had  in  view. 

It  is  probable  that  the  presence  of  Paul  at  Corinth  entirely 
calmed  the  dissensions  which  for  several  months  back  had 
caused  him  so  much  anxiety.8  A  severe  allusion  which  he  makes 
about  this  time,  "To  those  who  boast  of  those  things  which 
Christ  has  not  wrought  by  them,"  and  to  others  "who  build 
upon  other  men's  foundations,"  *  proves,  however,  that  the  deep 
impression  caused  by  the  bad  actions  of  his  adversaries  still  re- 
mained. The  subscription  matter  was  proceeding  in  a  desirable 
manner.  Macedonia  and  Achaia  had  collected  a  large  sum.10 
The  apostle  finally  found  a  short  interval  of  repose.  He  profited 
by  it  to  write,  always  in  the  form  of  an  epistle,  a  sort  of  sum- 
ming up  of  his  theological  doctrine.11  „ 

As  this  great  exposition  equally  interested  all  Christendom, 
Paul  addressed  it  to  the  majority  of  the  churches  which  he  had 
founded,  and  with  which  he  could  communicate  at  that  moment. 

The  churches  favored  with  such  communication  were  at  least 
four  in  number.12  One  of  those  churches  Avas  the  church  of 
Ephesus.13  A  copy  was  also  sent  to  Macedonia.14  Paul  even 
thought  of  addressing  this  writing  to  the  church  of  Rome.  In 
all  the  copies,  the  body  of  the  epistle  was  about  the  same  : 15  the 
moral  recommendation  and  salutations  varied.  In  the  copy  in- 
tended for  the  Romans,  in  particular,  Paul  introduced  several 
variations  befitting  the  inclinations  of  this  church,  which  he  knew 
to  be  strongly  attached  to  Judaism.18  It  is  the  copy  addressed 
to  the  church  of  Rome  which  served  as  basis  to  the  arrange- 
ment to  the  context,  when  the  epistles  of  St.  Paul  were  col- 
lected. Hence  arises  the  name  borne  by  the  epistle  alluded  to. 
The  editors  (if  the  expression  be  allowed)  copied  the  parts  in 
common  only  once  ;  but  as  they  would  not  risk  losing  anything 
from  the  pen  of  the  apostle,  they  attached  to  the  end  of  the 


274  SAINT  PAUL. 

princeps  copy,  the  portions  which  varied  in  the  different  copies, 
or  which  were  completer  in  one  of  them.17 

This  valuable  writing,  the  basis  of  Christian  theology,  is  by 
far  the  one  in  which  the  ideas  of  Paul  are  set  forth  most  con- 
nectedly. It  is  there  that  appears  in  all  its  light  the  great 
conception  of  the  apostle :  The  law  is  nothing ;  the  works 
are  nothing ;  salvation  only  comes  from  Jesus,  the  Son  of 
God,  raised  from  the  dead.  Jesus,  who,  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Jewish-Christian  school,  is  a  great  prophet  come  to  fulfil  the 
law,  is,  in  the  eyes  of  Paul,  a  divine  apparition  rendering  useless 
everything  gone  before,  even  the  law.  Jesus  and  the  law  are  for 
Paul  two  opposite  things.  Whatever  of  excellence  and  efficacy 
is  accorded  to  the  law  is  a  theft  committed  on  Jesus.  To  abase 
the  law  is  to  exalt  Jesus.  Greeks,  Jews,  Barbarians,  all  are  equal. 
The  Jews  had  been  called  the  first,  the  Greeks  next.  All  are 
saved  only  through  faith  in  Jesus.18 

What  can  man  do,  abandoned  to  himself?  One  thing  only,  sin. 
And  at  first,  as  regards  the  heathen,  the  spectacle  of  the  visible 
world,  and  the  natural  law  written  in  their  hearts,  should  have 
sufficed  to  reveal  to  them  the  true  God  and  their  duties.  Through 
voluntary  and  inexcusable  blindness,  they  did  not  worship  God, 
whom  they  well  knew ;  they  have  destroyed  themselves  through 
their  vain  imaginations  ;  their  pretended  philosophy  has  been 
nothing  but  error.  In  order  to  punish  them,  God  has  delivered 
them  up  to  the  most  shameful  vices,  —  to  vices  against  nature. 
Nor  are  the  Jews  any  more  innocent.  They  have  received  the 
law,  but  they  have  not  observed  it.  Circumcision  does  not 
make  a  Jew.  The  heathen  who  observes  well  the  law  of  nature 
is  better  than  the  Jew  who  does  not  observe  the  law  of  God. 
Have  not  the  Jews,  then,  any  prerogative  ?  Without  doubt  they 
have.  Unto  them  have  the  promises  been  made,  —  the  unbelief 
of  some  of  them  will  not  prevent  these  promises  from  being 
fulfilled.  But  the  law  of  itself  has  not  been  able  to  make  jus- 
tice reign.  It  has  only  served  to  create  unrighteousness,  and  to 


SAINT  PAUL.  275 

make  it  evident.  In  other  words,  the  Jews,  like  the  Gentiles, 
have  lived  under  the  domination  of  sin. l9 

Whence  then  comes  justification  ?  From  faith  in  Jesus,90 
without  any  distinction  of  race.  All  men  were  sinners ;  Jesus 
was  a  propitiatory  victim.  His  death  was  the  redemption  which 
God  has  accepted  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  the  works  of  the 
law  not  having  been  able  to  justify  the  world.  God  is  not  only 
the  God  of  the  Jews,  he  is  also  the  God  of  the  Gentiles.  It  was 
through  faith  that  Abraham  was  justified,  since  it  is  written, 
"  He  believed,  and  it  was  counted  unto  him  for  righteousness."  81 
Justification  is  free,  and  no  one  has  a  right  to  it  from  his  merits. 
It  is  an  imputation  made  by  grace,  and  by  an  entirely  merciful 
act  of  the  divinity." 

The  fruit  of  justification  is  peace  with  God,  hope,  and  conse- 
quently that  patience  which  makes  us  put  our  glory  and  our 
happiness  in  tribulations  like  Christ,  who  died  for  the  un- 
righteous, and  in  whose  blood  we  have  been  justified.  If  God 
loved  men  so  much  that  he  gave  his  son  unto  death  for  them, 
when  they  were  sinners,  what  will  he  not  do,  now  that  they  are 
reconciled  ? 23 

Sin  and  death  entered  into  the  world  by  one  man,  Adam,  in 
whom  all  sinned.  Grace  and  salvation  entered  into  the  world 
by  one  man,  Christ,  in  whom  all  are  justified.  Two  types  of 
men  have  existed  "the  first  Adam,"  or  the  earthy  Adam,  origin 
of  all  disobedience ;  "  the  second  Adam,"  or  the  heavenly 
Adam,  origin  of  all  righteousness.  Humanity  is  divided  be- 
tween these  two  file-leaders,  some  following  the  earthy  Adam, 
others  the  spiritual  Adam.24  The  law  has  only  served  to  in- 
crease the  offences,  and  to  give  consciousness  of  them.  It  is 
grace,  which,  existing  in  superabundance  where  sin  abounded, 
has  blotted  out  everything ;  so  much  so  that  it  can  almost  be 
said,  that,  through  the  grace  of  Jesus,  sin  has  been  a  blessing, 
and  has  only  served  to  make  the  mercy  of  God  apparent.36 

But  it  will  be  said,  let  us  then  sin  that  grace  may  be  abun- 
dant ;  let  us  do  evil  that  good  may  come.88  Behold,  said  Paul, 


276  SAINT  PAUL. 

what  they  attribute  to  me  by  distorting  my  doctrine.  Nothing 
is  further  from  my  mind  Those  who  have  been  baptized  in 
Christ  are  dead  to  sin  ;  buried  with  Christ,  in  order  to  rise  again 
and  live  with  him ;  that  is  to  say,  to  lead  an  entirely  new  life. 
Our  "  old  man,"  that  is  to  say,  the  man  that  we  were  before  bap- 
tism, has  been  crucified  with  Christ.  From  the  fact  that  the  Chris- 
tian is  freed  from  the  law,  it  does  not  therefore  follow  that  he  is 
allowed  to  sin.  From  the  dominion  of  sin  he  has  passed  to  the 
dominion  of  righteousness ;  from  the  path  of  death  to  the  path 
of  life.  The  Christian,  moreover,  is  death  to  the  law.  Now  the 
law  created  sin.  Of  itself  it  was  good  and  holy,  but  it  made  sin 
known,  aggravated  it,"  and  in  that  manner  the  commandment, 
which  should  have  created  life,  created  death.  A  woman  com- 
mits adultery,  if,  while  her  husband  is  living,  she  violates  the 
marriage  law ;  but  after  the  death  of  her  husband,  adultery  is  no 
longer  possible.  Christ,  by  killing  the  law,  therefore  freed  us 
from  the  law,  and  joined  us  to  himself.  Death  to  the  flesh, 
which  led  to  sin,  death  to  the  law  which  made  us  to  know  sin, 
the  Christian  has  henceforth  only  to  serve  God  "in  the  newness 
of  the  spirit  and  not  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter."  The  law  was 
spiritual,  but  man  is  carnal.  There  are  two  natures  in  man  :  the 
one  which  loves  and  desires  the  good  ;  the  other  which  does  the 
evil,  without  man  being  conscious  of  it.  Does  it  not  often  hap- 
pen that  we  do  not  the  good  which  we  wish,  and  that  we  do  the 
evil  which  we  hate  ?  This  is  because  sin  dwells  in  man,  and  acts 
in  him  without  his  knowledge.  "  The  inward  man,"  that  is  to 
say,  reason,  adheres  to  the  law  of  God^  but  concupiscence  is  in- 
unceasing  war  with  reason  and  the  law  of  God.  "  O  wretched 
man  that  I  am !  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this 
death  ?  I  thank  God,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  ! "  28 

The  true  Christian  being  delivered  from  the  law  and  from 
concupiscence,  is  therefore  saved  from  condemnation  by  the 
mercy  of  God,  who  has  sent  his  only  Son  in  the  likeness  of 
simple  flesh  to  destroy  sin,  but  this  deliverance  only  takes  place 
when  man  abandons  the  flesh  and  lives  according  to  the  spirit. 


SAINT  PAUL.  277 

The  wisdom  of  the  flesh  is  a  great  enemy  of  God ;  -it  is  even 
death.  The  spirit,  on  the  contrary,  is  life.  Through  it  we  are 
constituted  the  children  of  God.  Through  it  we  cry  Abba, 
that  is  to  say,  "  Father."  "  But  if  we  are  the  sons  of  God,  we 
are  also  his  heirs  and  the  joint  heirs  of  Christ.  After  having 
shared  his  sufferings  we  shall  share  his  glory.  What  are  all  the 
present  sufferings  compared  to  the  glory  which  is  soon  going 
to  burst  upon  us?  The  entire  creation  is  waiting  for  this 
great  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God.  It  groans ;  it  is,  as  it 
were,  in  the  pains  of  childbirth ;  but  it  hopes.  It  hopes,  I  say, 
to  be  delivered  from  the  slavery  in  which  it  groans,  subjected  as 
it  is  to  infirmity  and  corruption,  and  to  pass  to  the  glorious  re- 
demption of  the  sons  of  God.  We  also  who  have  received  the 
first  fruits  of  the  spirit,  we  groan  within  ourselves,  awaiting  the 
moment  when  our  elevation  to  the  state  of  the  sons  of  God 
shall  be  accomplished,  and  our  body  delivered  from  its  weak- 
ness. It  is  hope  which  saves  us,  for  we  do  not  hope  for  what 
we  see.  Let  us  patiently  persevere  in  this  waiting  for  the  invisi- 
ble, with  the  aid  of  the  spirit.  We  do  not  know  how  to  pray, 
but  the  spirit  aids  us  in  our  weakness,  and  intercedes  for  us 
with  God  in  unutterable  groanings.50  God,  who  searches  hearts, 
can  divine  the  desires  of  the  spirit,  and  interpret  these  indistinct 
and  inarticulate  groanings.3 

What  a  motive  for  reliance,  moreover  !  It  is  by  a  direct  act 
of  God  —  it  is  of  God  that  we  are  designated  for  the  metamor- 
phosis which  will  render  us  like  his  Son,  and  transform  all  the 
living  ones  into  a  troop  of  brethren,  of  whom  Jesus  will  be 
the  eldest.  By  his  foreknowledge,  God  knows  the  chosen 
in  advance.  Those  whom  he  knows  he  predestinates;  those 
whom  he  predestinates  he  calls ;  those  whom  he  calls  he  justi- 
fies ;  those  whom  he  justifies  he  glorifies.  Be  content.  If  for 
us  God  has  not  spared  his  own  Son,  and  delivered  him  up  to 
death,  what  can  he  refuse  us  ?  Who  would  be  on  the  day  of 
judgment  the  accuser  of  the  elect?  God  who  has  justified 
them  ?  Who  would  condemn  them  ?  Christ,  who  died  and 
24 


278  SAINT  PAUL. 

rose  again,  who  is  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  inter- 
cedes for  us  ?  Impossible.  What  can  tribulation,  distress, 
persecution,  famine,  nakedness,  peril,  or  sword  do  to  us?  As 
for  me,  adds  Paul,  "  I  am  persuaded  that  neither  death,  nor  life, 
nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present, 
nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  crea- 
ture, shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is 
jn^Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."32 

We  see  to  what  a  complete  rupture  with  Judaism,  Christianity 
has  arrived,  in  the  hands  of  Paul.  Jesus  did  not  go  so  far. 
Assuredly,  Jesus  had  loudly  proclaimed  that  the  reign  of  the  law 
was  over ;  that  there  remained  nothing  except  the  worship  in 
spirit  and  truth  of  God  the  Father.  But,  with  Jesus,  poetry, 
sentiment,  imagery,  and  style,  are  essentially  Jewish.  He,  in  a 
direct  line  from  Isaiah,  holds  to  psalmists,  prophets  of  the  time 
of  the  captivity,  the  author  of  the  Canticle  of  Canticles,  and  at 
times,  the  author  of  Ecclesiastes.  Paul  only  holds  to  Jesus,  not 
such  as  he  was  on  the  borders  of  the  Lake  of  Gennesaret,  but 
Jesus  such  as  he  conceives  him,  such  as  he  saw  him  in  his 
vision.  For  his  former  co-religionists  he  has  no  feeling  but 
pity.  The  "perfect"  Christian,  the  "enlightened"  Christian,  is, 
in  his  eyes,  the  one  who  knows  the  vanity  of  the  law,  its  use- 
lessness,  and  the  frivolity  of  its  pious  practices.33  Paul  almost 
wished  to  "be  anathema  to  his  brethren  in  Israel;  to  him 
it  was  a  great  sorrow,  a  continual  heart-ache,  to  think  of 
this  noble  race,  elevated  so  high  in  glory,  which  had  the 
privilege  of  adoption,  alliance,  law,  true  religion,  and  promises, 
which  had  the  patriarchs,  out  of  whom  Christ  came  after  the 
flesh.  But  God  has  not  failed  in  his  promises.  To  be  descended 
from  Israel  is  not  to  be  a  true  Israelite.  One  is  heir  to  promises 
by  the  choice  and  calling  of  God — not  through  birth.  There  is 
nothing  unjust  in  that.  Salvation  is  the  result,  not  of  human 
efforts,  but  of  the  mercy  of  God.  God  is  free  to  take  pity  on 
whom  he  wishes,  and  to  harden  whom  he  wishes.  Who  will 
dare  to  ask  God  to  account  for  his  preferences  ?  Does  the 


SAINT  PAUL.  279 

earthen  vessel  say  to  the  potter,  Why  hast  thou  made  me  thus  ? 
Has  not  the  potter  the  right  of  the  same  lump  of  clay  to  make 
two  vessels,  one  unto  honor,  the  other  unto  dishonor  ?  If  it 
please  God  to  form  such  a  man  in  order  to  show  his  power  by 
destroying  him,  as  he  did  Pharaoh,34  he  has  the  right  to  do  so ; 
and  the  more  so,  as  that  makes  manifest  his  mercy  towards 
those  whom  he  has  prepared  and  called  unto  glory.  Now  this 
election  is  made  by  him  without  pausing  for  any  consideration, 
>race,  or  blood.86  If  the  Jewish  people,  moreover,  have  seen 
themselves  supplanted,  it  is  their  own  fault.  They  had  too 
much  confidence  in  the  works  of  the  law.  They  thought  to 
attain  righteousness  through  these  works.  The  Gentiles,  free 
from  this  stumbling-block,  entered  more  easily  into  the  true 
doctrine  —  salvation  through  faith.  Israel  has  sinned  by  too 
great  a  zeal  for  the  law,  and,  having  placed  too  much  depend- 
ence upon  personal  righteousness,  which  is  acquired  by  the 
works.  This  has  made  them  forget  that  righteousness  comes 
from  God  alone ;  which  is  the  fruit  of  grace,  and  not  of  the 
works.  This  has  made  them  reject  the  instrument  of  this 
righteousness,  which  was  Jesus.86 

Has  God  then  repudiated  his  people  ?  No.  God,  it  is  true, 
has  seen  fit  to  harden  and  make  blind  the  largest  number  of  the 
Jews.  But  the  first  nucleus  of  the  elect  was  taken  from  the 
bosom  of  Israel.  Besides  this,  the  fall  of  the  Hebrew  people  is 
not  definitive.  The  object  of  this  fall  is  merely  to  save  the 
Gentiles,  and  to  provoke  a  salutary  emulation  between  the  two 
branches  of  the  elect.  It  is  fortunate  for  the  Gentiles  that  the 
Jews  should  have  for  a  moment  failed  in  their  calling ;  since  it  is 
by  their  defects,  and  thanks  to  their  casting  away,  that  the  Gen- 
tiles have  been  able  to  become  their  substitutes.  But,  if  the 
casting  away  of  the  Jewish  people,  if  a  moment's  delay  on  their 
part  has  been  the  salvation  of  the  world,  what  will  be  their  entry 
in  a  body  into  the  church  ?  It  will  truly  be  the  resurrection. 
If  the  first  fruits  be  holy,  the  lump  is  also  holy  ;  if  the  root  be 
holy,  so  are  the  branches.  Some  branches  have  been  broken 


2 So  SAINT  PAUL. 

off,  and  in  their  place  have  been  grafted  the  branches  of  the 
wild  olive,  which  have  thus  become  partakers  of  the  root  and 
fatness  of  the  olive-tree.  Take  oare,  wild  olive,  not  to  grow 
proud  at  the  expense  of  the  branches  broken  off.  It  is  not  thou 
that  bearest  the  root ;  it  is  the  root  that  bears  thee.  Yes,  thou 
wilt  say;  but  the  branches  were  broken  off  that  I  might  be 
grafted  in.  Without  doubt,  they  were  broken  off  for  lack  of  faith. 
Thou,  it  is  to  faith  that  thou  owest  everything.  Take  care 
that  thou  dost  not  grow  proud.  Tremble.  If  thou  dost  not 
persevere,  thou  also  shalt  be  broken  off.  If  they  return  to  faith, 
God  has  the  power  to  engraft  them  again  upon  their  own  trunk. 
Israel  has  been  made  blind  until  the  multitude  of  the  Gentiles 
has  entered  the  church.  But,  after  that,  Israel  will  be  saved  in 
her  turn.  The  gifts  of  God  are  without  repentance.  The 
friendship  of  Israel  and  God  has  suffered  an  eclipse,  in  order 
that  the  Gentiles  might,  in  the  mean  time,  receive  the  Gospel ; 
but  the  calling  of  Israel,  the  promises  made  to  the  patriarchs, 
will  not  have  on  this  account  less  effect.37  God  makes  use  of 
the  unbelief  of  some  to  save  others ;  then  he  saves  those  whom 
he  has  rendered  unbelieving,  in  their  turn,  —  all  this  to  establish 
well  the  fact  that  salvation  is,  on  his  part,  a  pure  act  of  mercy, 
and  not  a  result,  to  which  one  may  arrive  by  right  of  birth,  or 
by  the  works,  or  by  the  free  choice  of  his  mind.  God  takes 
counsel  of  no  one.  He  is  under  obligations  to  no  one.  He  has 
no  return  to  make  to  any  one. 

"  O  the  depth  of  the  riches,  both  of  the  wisdom  and  know- 
ledge of  God !  How  unsearchable  are  his  judgments,  and  his 
ways  past  finding  out.  For  of  him,  and  through  him,  and  to 
him  are  all  things.  To  whom  be  glory  forever  !  Amen"*' 

The  apostle,  according  to  his  custom,  concludes  with  moral 
applications.  The  religion  of  the  Christian  is  a  religion  of 
reason,"  without  any  other  sacrifice  than  that  of  one's  self. 
Every  one  should  present  to  God  a  victim  pure  and  worthy 
to  be  favorably  accepted.40  The  spirit  of  the  church  should 
be  modesty,  concord,  and  mutual  support.  All  the  gifts,  all  the 


SAINT  PAUL.  281 

characters,  are  intimately  associated.  The  same  body  has  seve- 
ral members.  All  the  members  have  not  the  same  function  ;  but 
all  have  need  of  each  other.41  Prophets,  deacons,  teachers, 
preachers,  benefactors,  superiors,  commissioners  for  works  of 
mercy,  are  equally  necessary,  provided  they  display,  in  their 
functions,  that  simplicity,  zeal,  and  gayety  which  these  functions 
demand.  Charity  without  hypocrisy,  fraternity,  politeness  and 
civilities,  activity,  fervor,  joy,  hope,  patience,  amiability,  con- 
cord and  humility,  pardon  of  wrongs,  love  of  neighbor,  eager- 
ness to  provide  for  the  wants  of  the  saints,  to  bless  those  who 
persecute  you,  to  rejoice  with  those  who  rejoice,  weep  with 
those  who  weep,  to  overcome  evil  not  with  evil,  but  with  good ; 
such  is  the  morality,  in  part  borrowed  from  the  old  Hebrew 
books,"  which  Paul  preaches,  according  to  Jesusi43  It  appears 
that,  at  the  period  when  he  wrote  this  epistle,  several  churches, 
above  all  the  church  of  Rome,  numbered  among  their  members 
either  disciples  of  Judas  the  Gaulonite,  who  denied  the  legiti- 
macy of  tributes,  and  preached  revolt  against  the  Roman  au- 
thority; or  Ebionites,  who  absolutely  opposed  the  reign  of  Satan 
and  the  reign  of  the  Messiah,  to  one  another  and  identified  the 
present  world  with  the  empire  of  the  devil.44  Paul  replies  to 
them  like  a  true  disciple  of  Jesus  :  —  ^ 

"Let  every  soul  be  subject  unto  the  higher  powers.  For  there 
is  no  power  but  of  God :  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of 
God. 

"  Whosoever,  therefore,  resisteth  the  power,  resisteth  the  ordi- 
nance of  God :  and  they  that  resist  shall  receive  to  themselves 
damnation. 

"  For  rulers  are  not  a  terror  to  good  works,  but  to  the  evil. 
Wilt  thou  then  not  be  afraid  of  the  power  ?  do  that  which  is 
good,  and  thou  shalt  have  praise  of  the  same  : 

"  For  he  is  the  minister  of  God  to  thee  for  good.    But  if  thou 
do  that  which  is  evil,  be  afraid ;  for  he  beareth  not  the  sword  in 
vain ;  for  he  is  the  minister  of  God,  a  revenger  to  execute  wrath 
upon  him  that  doeth  evil. 
24* 


282  SAINT  PAUL. 

"Wherefore  ye  must  needs  be  subject,  not  only  for  wrath,  but 
also  for  conscience  sake. 

"For,  for  this  cause  pay  ye  tribute  also  :  for  they  are  God's 
ministers ; 45  attending  continually  upon  this  very  thing. 

"  Render  therefore  to  all  their  dues  :  tribute  to  whom  tribute  is 
due;  custom  to  whom  custom;  fear  to  whom  fear;  honor  to 
whom  honor."" 

This  was  written  in  the  fourth  year  of  Nero.  This  prince  had 
not  yet  given  any  cause  to  curse  him.  His  government  had 
been,  up  to  this,  the  best  since  the  death  of  Augustus.  At  the 
moment  in  which  Paul,  with  a  great  deal  of  good  sense,  was  de- 
fending tribute  against  Jewish  theocracy,  Nero  was  softening  its 
rigors,  and  even  seeking  to  apply  the  most  radical  reforms  to 
it.47  The  Christians  of  this  date  had  not  had  cause  to  complain 
of  him ;  and  we  can  conceive  that  at  a  period  in  which  the 
Roman  authority  was  assisting  his  work  instead  of  opposing  it, 
Paul  would  seek  to  warn  the  tumultuous  movements,  which 
might  ruin  all,  and  to  which  the  Jews  of  Rome  were  much  in- 
clined.48 These  seditions,  and  the  arrests  and  punishments  which 
resulted  from  them,  threw  the  new  sect  into  the  greatest  disfavor, 
and  caused  its  adepts  to  be  confounded  with  robbers  and  dis- 
turbers of  the  public  order.49  Paul  had  too  much  tact  to  be  a 
rioter ;  and  he  desired  that  the  Christian  name  should  be  we 
borne ;  that  the  Christian  should  be  a  man  of  order,  to  stand 
well  with  the  police,  and  enjoy  a  good  reputation  in  the  eyes  of 
the  heathen.50  Behold  what  led  him  to  write  this  page,  equally 
singular  on  the  part  of  a  Jew  and  on  the  part  of  a  Christian. 
We  see  here,  moreover,  a  manifestation  (with  a  rare  naivete)  of 
that  element  of  budding  Christianity,  dangerous  for  politics. 
The  theory  of  the  divine  right  of  all  established  power  is  boldly 
outlined.  Nero  has  been  proclaimed  by  St.  Paul  a  minister,  an 
officer  of  God,  a  representative  of  divine  authority  !  The  Chris- 
tian, when  he  shall  be  able  freely  to  practice  his  religion,  will  be 
a  blind  subject,  in  no  wise  a  citizen.  I  do  not  mean  to  ex- 
press any  blame  here.  One  never  does  two  things  at  the  same 


SAINT  PAUL.  283 

time,  eminently  well.  It  is  not  only  a  question  of  politics ;  and  it 
is  precisely  the  glory  of  Christianity  for  having  created  an  entire- 
world  outside  of  them.  But  see  to  what  we  expose  ourselves 
with  absolute  theories  !  "  The  minister  of  God,"  whose  appro- 
bation all  honest  men  should  seek,  whose  sword  is  only  to  be 
dreaded  by  the  evil-doer,  will  become,  in  a  few  years,  the 
"beast"  of  the  Apocalypse,  the  "anti-Christ,"  the  "persecutor 
of  the  saints." 

The  strange  situation  of  minds,  the  conviction  that  the  end 
of  the  world  was  approaching,  explain,  however,  this  haughty 
indifference. 

"  And  that,  knowing  the  time,  that  now  it  is  high  time  to  awake 
out  of  sleep  :  for  now  is  our  salvation  nearer  than  when  we 
believed. 

"  The  night  is  far  spent,  the  day  is  at  hand :  let  us,  therefore, 
cast  off  the  works  of  darkness,  and  let  us  put  on  the  armor  of 
light. 

"  Let  us  walk  honestly,  as  in  the  day ;  not  in  rioting  and 
drunkenness,  not  in  chambering  and  wantonness,  not  in  strife 
and  envying : 

"But  put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  not  provision 
for  the  flesh,  to  fulfil  the  lusts  thereof."  51 

The  struggle  of  Paul  against  his  adversaries,  more  or  less 
Ebionitic,  occurs  in  that  part  of  his  letter  relative  to  the  absti- 
nence from  meats  and  to  the  observance  of  neomenies,  sab- 
baths, and  days."  The  Ebionism,  which,  from  this  period,  had 
had  its  principal  centre  at  Rome,63  adhered  strictly  to  these  out- 
ward practices,54  which  were,  in  truth,  only  a  continuation  of 
those  of  Essenism.  There  were  scrupulous  and  ascetic  persons, 
who  not  only  practiced  legal  ordinances  concerning  meats,  but  who 
also  interdicted  themselves  from  eating  anything  but  vegetables, 
and  from  drinking  wine.66  It  must  be  remembered  that  Chris- 
tianity recruited  itself  among  the  very  pious  persons,  and  as 
such,  much  given  to  devotional  practices.  In  becoming  Chris- 
tians, these  persons  remained  faithful  to  their  old  customs ; 


284  SAINT  PAUL. 

or  rather,  the  adoption  of  Christianity  was  for  them  only  an 
additional  act  of  devotion  (religio).  Paul,  in  this  new  letter, 
remains  faithful  to  the  excellent  rules  of  conduct  which  he  had 
drawn  up  for  the  Corinthians.66  Of  themselves,  these  practices 
are  perfectly  vain ;  but  the  most  important  point  of  all  is  not  to 
shock  weak  consciences,  not  to  trouble  them,  not  to  reason 
with  them.  Let  him  whose  conscience  is  strong  not  despise 
him  whose  conscience  is  weak.  Let  the  timid  conscience 
not  allow  itself  to  judge  the  sound  conscience.  Let  each 
one  follow  his  own  judgment.  That  is  good  which  one  be- 
lieves to  be  good  for  God.  How  can  one  dare  to  judge  his 
brother?  It  is  Christ  who  will  judge  us  all.  Each  one  will 
only  have  to  reply  for  himself.  The  distinction  of  meats  is 
based  upon  nothing.  Everything  is  pure.  But  it  is  important 
not  to  scandalize  one's  own  brother.  If,  by  eating  lawful 
meats,  thou  orTendest  thy  brother,  take  care.  On  account  of 
a  question  of  meats,  do  not  ruin  a  soul  for  which  Christ  died. 
The  kingdom  of  God  has  nothing  to  do  with  eating  and  drink- 
ing: it  consists  of  righteousness,  peace,  joy,  and  edification.57 

The  disciples  of  Paul  were  occupied  several  days  copying  this 
manifesto,  addressed  to  the  different  churches.  The  epistle  to 
the  churches  of  Macedonia  was  written  by  Tertius.  The  Mace- 
donians who  accompanied  Paul,  and  the  Corinthians  who  had 
relations  with  the  churches  of  the  north  of  Greece,  profited  by 
this  occasion  to  salute  their  brethren.58  The  epistle  to  the 
Ephesians  contained  the  nominal  salutation  of  Paul  to  almost 
all  the  Christians  of  this  great  church.  As  there  were  very  few 
relations  between  Corinth  and  Macedonia  upon  the  one  hand, 
and  Ephesus  on  the  other,  the  apostle  does  not  speak  to  the 
Ephesians  of  those  who  surround  him ;  but  he  warmly  recom- 
mends to  them  Phebe,  deaconess  of  Cenchrea,  who  probably 
carried  them  a  letter.  This  poor  woman  set  out  on  a  difficult 
winter  voyage  across  the  archipelago,  without  any  other  resource 
than  the  recommendation  of  Paul.  The  church  of  Ephesus  was 
requested  to  receive  her  in  a  manner  worthy  of  saints,  and 


SAItft  r.iUL.  285 

to  provide  for  all  her  needs."  Paul  probably  had  some  anxiety 
concerning  the  intrigues  of  the  Jewish-Christian  party  at  Ephe- 
sus  ;  for  at  the  end  of  the  letter  he  adds  with  his  own  hand :  — 

"Now  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  mark  them  which  cause  divisions 
and  offences  contrary  to  the  doctrine  which  ye  have  learned ;  ami 
avoid  them. 

'•'•For  they  that  are  such  serve  not  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but 
their  own  belly ;  and  by  good  words  and  fair  speeches  deceive 
the  hearts  of  the  simple. 

11 For  your  obedience  is  come  abroad  unto  all  men.  I  am  glad, 
therefore,  on  your  behalf :  but  yet  I  would  have  you  wise  unto  that 
which  is  good,  and  simple  concerning  evil. 

"And  the  God  of  peace  shall  bruise  Satan  under  your  feet 
shortly."" 

We  have  seen  that  St.  Paul,  in  preparing  this  most  important 
writing,  had  proposed  to  send  it  to  the  church  of  Rome.,  This 
church  had^been  re-established  since  the  edict  of  Claudius,  and 
a  great  deal  of  good  was  said  about  it.61  It  was  not  numerous,02 
and  in  general  composed  of  Ebionites68  and  Jewish-Christians.94 
It  also  contained,  nevertheless,  proselytes  and  converted 
heathen.66  The  idea  of  addressing  a  dogmatic  writing  to  a 
church  which  he  had  not  founded,  was  an  entirely  unusual 
course  for  Paul.66  He  greatly  feared  lest  that  they  should  see 
something  indiscreet  in  his  proceedings.67  He  suppressed  every- 
thing at  all  like  the  tone  of  a  master  speaking  with  authority. 
He  made  no  personal  salutations.68  With  these  precautions  he 
thought  that  his  title,  henceforth  acknowledged  of  apostle  of 
the  Gentiles,69  gave  him  a  right  to  address  a  church  which  he 
had  never  seen.70  The  importance  of  Rome,  as  capital  of  the 
empire,  pre-occupied  him.  For  several  years  had  he  entertained 
the  project  of  going  thither.71  Not  being  able  to  execute  his  de- 
sign, he  wished  to  give  a  mark  of  sympathy  to  this  illustrious 
church,  which  contained  a  class  of  the  faithful,  of  whom  he 
regarded  himself  the  pastor,72  and  to  announce  to  them  the 
glad  tidings  of  his  future  coming.73 


286  SAINT  PAUL. 

The  composition  and  sending  of  the  epistle  called  "To  the 
Romans,"  occupied  the  greatest  part  of  the  three  winter  months 
that  Paul  passed  this  time  at  Corinth.74  These  were,  in  one 
sense,  the  best  occupied  weeks  of  his  life.  This  writing  becomes 
later,  the  resume  of  the  Christian  doctrine,  —  the  declaration  of 
war  of  theology  to  philosophy,  —  the  main  writing  which  led  an 
entire  class  of  austere  minds  to  embrace  Christianity  as  a  system 
of  bullying  reason,  by  proclaiming  the  sublimity  and  credibility 
of  the  absurd.  It  is  the  application  of  the  merits  of  Christ  which 
justifies.  It  is  God  who  works  in  us  both  to  will  and  to  do.75 
This  is  the  overthrow  of  reason,  which,  essentially  Pelagian,  has 
for  its  fundamental  dogma  the  liberty  and  personality  of  good 
works.  Well,  the  doctrine  of  Paul  opposed  to  all  human  sense, 
has  really  been  a  liberating  and  salutary  one.  It  has  separated 
Christianity  from  Judaism,  —  it  has  separated  Protestantism  from 
Catholicism.  The  pious  observances  persuading  the  devotee 
that  through  them  he  is  justified,  possess  a  twofold  inexpediency. 
First  of  all,  they  destroy  morality,  by  leading  the  devotee  to  be- 
lieve that  there  is  a  sure  and  convenient  way  of  entering  paradise, 
in  spite  of  God.  The  most  hard-hearted  Jew,  a  wicked  and 
egotistical  usurer,  imagined  that  by  observing  the  law,  he  forced 
God  to  save  him.  The  Catholic  of  the  days  of  Louis  XI. 
thought  that  by  masses,  one  proceeded  against  God,  as  if  with  a 
bailiff's  summons,  so  that  any  such  wicked  man  whom  God  did 
not  like,  might  succeed,  provided  he  were  wary,  in  reaching 
heaven  with  the  game  in  his  hands,  and  that  God  would  be 
obliged  to  admit  him  into  his  company.  This  impiety  reached  by 
Judaism  through  Talmudism,  by  Christianity  through  the  Catho- 
licism of  the  middle  ages,  was  met  with  a  most  energetic  remedy 
by  St.  Paul.  According  to  him,  we  are  justified  not  by  works, 
but  by  faith.  It  is  faith  in  Jesus  which  saves.78  This  is  why  this 
doctrine,  apparently  so  illiberal,  was  that  of  all  the  reformers, 
the  lever  by  which  Wickliff,  John  Huss,  Luther,  Calvin,  and  St. 
Cyran  abolished  a  secular  tradition  of  routine,  an  insipid  confi- 
dence in  the  priest,  and  in  a  sort  of  outward  righteousness,  not 
bringing  about  a  change  of  heart. 


SAINT  PAUL.  287 

The  other  objection  to  the  practices  is,  that  they  lead  to 
scrupulosity.  Being  presumed  to  possess  a  value  of  themselves 
ex  opere  operate,  independent  of  the  condition  of  the  soul,  they 
open  the  way  to  all  the  subtleties  of  a  fastidious  casuistry.  The 
lawful  work  becomes  a  recipe,  the  success  of  which  depends 
upon  punctual  execution.  Here  again,  Talmudism  and  Catho- 
licism met  each  other.  The  despair  of  the  Jewish  devotees  of 
the  time  of  Jesus  and  St.  Paul,  was  the  fear  of  not  well  observing 
the  law, —  the  apprehension  of  not  being  correct.77  It  was 
allowed  that  the  holiest  man  sins, —  that  it  is  impossible  not  to 
prevaricate.  They  were  almost  led  to  regret  that  God  had  given 
the  law,  since  it  only  served  to  bring  about  wrong.78  They 
gave  utterance  to  this  singular  idea,  that  God  must  only  have 
established  all  these  ordinances  in  order  to  cause  sin  and  make 
the  whole  world  sinners.  Jesus,  in  the  minds  of  his  disciples, 
came  in  order  to  make  easy  the  entrance  into  this  kingdom  of 
God,  which  the  Pharisees  had  rendered  so  difficult, —  to  widen 
the  gate  of  Judaism  which  they  had  made  so  narrow.  Paul,  at 
least,  imagines  no  other  mode  of  suppressing  sin  than  by  sup- 
pressing the  law.  His  reasoning  somewhat  resembles  that  of  the 
probabilists :  to  increase  obligations  is  to  increase  offences ;  to 
unloosen  consciences,  to  render  them  as  broad  as  possible,  is 
to  prevent  offenses,  since  no  one  violates  a  rule  by  which  he 
does  not  deem  himself  restrained. 

The  great  torment  of  delicate  souls  is  scruple.  Whoever  con- 
soles them  in  this  respect  is  all-powerful  over  them.  One  of  the 
most  ordinary  devotional  customs  of  pietistic  sects  in  England, 
is  to  regard  Jesus  as  one  who  unloads  the  conscience,  reassures 
the  sinner,  cairns  the  guilty  soul,  and  delivers  the  mind  from 
evil.79  Overwhelmed  by  the  consciousness  of  sin  and  condem- 
nation, Paul  likewise  only  finds  peace  in  Jesus.  All  are  sinners; 
all,  even  to  the  last  one ;  all  are  so  on  account  of  their  descent 
from  Adam.80  Judaism,  by  its  sacrifices  for  sin,  had  established 
the  idea  of  accounts  of  remission  and  debts,  open  in  some 
manner  between  God  and  man.  Rather  a  false  idea,  for  sin  is 


288  SAINT  PAUL. 

not  remitted ;  it  is  atoned  for.  A  crime  committed  will  last  until 
the  end  of  time ;  only,  the  conscience  which  committed  it  may 
recover  itself  and  perform  acts  of  a  contrary  nature.  The 
-power  of  remitting  sins,  was  one  of  those  supposed  to  have  been 
conferred  by  Jesus  upon  his  disciples.  The  church  had  none 
more  precious.  To  have  committed  a  crime,  to  have  the  con- 
science in  torment,  was  a  motive  to  become  a  Christian. 

"Behold  a  law  which  will  deliver  you  from  sins  from  which  ye 
could  not  be  justified  by  the  law  of  Moses." 81  What  could  be 
more  tempting  for  the  Jew?  It  is  said  that  one  of  the  reasons 
which  determined  Constantine  to  embrace  Christianity  was  the 
belief  that  the  Christian  alone  possessed  expiation  to  tranquillize 
the  soul  of  a  father  who  had  slain  his  son.82  The  merciful  Jesus, 
pardoning  every  one,  and  even  according  a  sort  of  preference  to 
those  who  have  sinned,  appeared  in  this  troubled  world  as  a 
great  pacifier  of  souls.83  They  professed  that  it  was  good  to 
have  sinned,  that  remission  was  entirely  free,  that  faith  alone 
justified.84 

A  peculiarity  of  the  Semitic  language  explains  such  a  mis- 
conception, and  excuses  this  incomplete  moral  psychology. 
The  form  hiphil  signifies  both  effective  and  declarative  at  once  ; 
so  that  hasdik  means  equally  "to  render  just"  and  "to  declare 
just,"  —  to  forgive  one  a  fault  which  he  has  committed,  and 
to  declare  that  he  has  not  committed  it.  The  "justified  one," 
according  to  this  idiom,  is  not  only  he  who  is  absolved  from  a 
sin,  but  he  who  is  tranquillized  in  his  own  mind,  who  has  nothing 
more  to  do  with  sins  which  he  may  have  committed,  with  pre- 
cepts which  he  may  have  violated  unconsciously. 

When  Paul  sent  this  terrible  epistle,  he  had  almost  fixed  upon 
the  day  of  his  departure.85  The  greatest  anxieties  beset  him.86 
He  had  a  presentiment  of  serious  accidents,  and  he  often  applied 
to  himself  these  lines  of  a  Psalm : 87  "  For  thy  sake  are  we  killed 
all  the  day  long:  we  are  accounted  as  sheep  for  the  slaughter."  8 
Very  exact  information,  which  was  but  too  well  verified,  repre- 
sented to  him  the  dangers  that  he  was  going  to  run  on  account 


SAINT  PAUL.  289 

of  the  Jews  of  Judea.89  He  was  not  even  without  fears 
concerning  the  disposition  of  the  church  of  Jerusalem.  He  had 
so  often  found  this  church  influenced  by  mean  prejudices  that 
he  feared  a  bad  reception,  which,  on  account  of  the  number  of 
believers  still  vacillating  who  accompanied  him,  would  have 
produced  a  disastrous  effect.  He  unceasingly  invited  the 
faithful  to  pray  God  that  his  offering  might  be  favorably 
received  by  the  saints.90  To  put  timid  provincial  neophytes 
thus  into  direct  contact  with  the  aristocracy  of  the  capital,  was 
a  conception  of  extreme  temerity.  Guided  by  his  admirable 
uprightness,  Paul  was  no  less  persistent  in  his  project.  He 
believed  himself  bound  by  an  order  of  the  Spirit.*1  He  said 
with  emphasis,  that  he  was  going  to  Jerusalem  to  serve  the 
saints,  —  represented  himself  as  the  deacon  of  the  poor  at  Jeru- 
salem.92 His  principal  disciples  and  the  deputies,  each  bearing 
the  offering  of  his  church,  were  with  him,  ready  to  set  out. 
They  were,  let  us  bear  in  mind,  Sopater  of  Berea,  Aristarchus 
and  Secundus  of  Thessalonica,  Gaius  of  Derbe,  Tychicus  and 
Trophimus  of  Ephesus,  and  finally  Timothy.93 

At  the  moment  in  which  Paul  was  going  to  embark  for  Syria, 
the  correctness  of  his  fears  was  confirmed.  There  was  discovered 
a  plot  formed  by  the  Jews,  to  take  him,  and  kill  him,  during  the 
voyage.94  In  order  to  frustrate  these  plans,  Paul  unexpectedly 
changed  his  itinerary.  It  was  decided  that  they  should  go  back 
by  way  of  Macedonia.  The  departure  took  place  towards  the 
month  of  April,95  in  the  year  58. 

Thus  terminated  this  third  mission,  which,  in  Paul's  estimation, 
finished  the  first  portion  of  his  apostolic  projects.  All  the 
Oriental  provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire  from  its  extreme  east- 
ern limit  as  far  as  Illyria,96  always  excepting  Egypt,  had  heard 
the  gospel  announced.  Not  once  had  the  apostle  deviated  from 
his  role  of  only  preaching  in  countries  where  Christ  had  not 
been  yet  named,  that  is  to  say,  where  other  apostles  had  not 
passed.  His  entire  work  had  been  original,  and  belonged  to  him 
alone.97  The  field  of  the  third  mission  had  included  the  same 
25 


290  SAINT  PAUL. 

countries  as  the  second.  Paul  was  turning  somewhat,  in  the  same 
circle,  and  began  to  find  himself  hemmed  in.98  He  now  longed 
to  accomplish  the  second  part  of  his  projects;  that  is  to  say,  to 
announce  the  name  of  Jesus  in  the  western  world,  in  order  that 
it  might  be  said  that  the  mystery  hidden  since  the  world  began 
was  known  to  all  nations." 

At  Rome  he  had  been  outstripped,  and  moreover,  those  of 
the  circumcision  constituted  the  majority  in  the  church.  It 
was  as  the  universal  pastor  of  the  Gentile  churches,  in  order 
to  strengthen  the  converted  heathen,  that  he  wished  to  appear 
in  the  capital  of  the  empire.  He  only  wished  to  pass  through  it ; 
to  enjoy  for  a  short  time  the  company  of  the  faithful ;  to  repose 
and  edify  himself  among  them;  then  take,  according  to  his 
custom,  new  travelling  companions,  who  should  follow  him  in 
his  further  journeys.100  Beyond  this  it  was  Spain  that  he  had  in 
view.101  At  this  period  Spain  had  not  yet  received  Israelitish 
emigrants ; loa  the  apostle,  therefore,  wished  this  time  to  deviate 
from  the  course  which  he  had  until  now  pursued,  of  following 
the  trace  of  synagogues  and  anterior  Jewish  establishments. 
But  Spain  was  considered  as  the  limit  of  the  west,  so  that  Paul 
believed  himself  authorized  to  conclude,  from  the  fact  that  he 
had  been  in  Achaia  and  Macedonia,  and  that  he  had  reached 
Illyria,  that,  when  he  should  have  been  in  Spain,  it  could  truly 
be  said  that  the  name  of  Jesus  had  been  announced  to  the  con- 
fines of  the  earth,  and  that  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  was  fully 
accomplished.103  We  shall  see  that  circumstances,  independent 
of  his  will,  prevented  Paul  from  realizing  the  second  part  of  the 
grand  plan  which  he  had  formed.  He  was  from  forty-five  to 
forty-eight  years  old.  He  would  still  certainly  have  found  time 
and  strength  to  make  in  the  Latin  world  one  or  two  of  those 
missions  which  he  had  conducted  in  the  Greek  world  with  so 
much  good  fortune.  But  the  fatal  journey  to  Jerusalem  over- 
turned all  his  plans.  Paul  felt  the  perils  of  this  journey,  and 
they  were  anticipated  by  all  those  round  him.  He  could  not, 
nevertheless,  renounce  a  project  to  which  he  attached  much 


SAINT  PAUL.  291 

importance.  Jerusalem  was  to  be  the  ruin  of  Paul.  It  was  one 
of  the  most  unfavorable  circumstances  for  budding  Christianity, 
to  have  its  capital  in  the  midst  of  such  exalted  fanaticism.  The 
event  which  in  ten  years  will  utterly  destroy  the  church  of  Jeru- 
salem, will  render  Christianity  the  greatest  service  it  has  ever 
received  in  the  course  of  its  long  history.  The  question  of  life 
or  death,  was  to  know  whether  or  not  the  young  sect  should 
disengage  itself  from  Judaism.  Now,  if  the  saints  of  Jerusalem 
grouped  around  the  temple  had  always  remained  the  aristocracy, 
or,  so  to  express  it,  the  "  Court  of  Rome  "  of  Christianity,  this 
great  rupture  would  not  have  taken  place :  the  sect  of  Jesus, 
like  that  of  John,  would  have  died  out  obscurely,  and  the'Chris- 
tians  would  have  been  lost  among  the  sectarian  Jews  of  the 
first  and  second  century. 


292  SAINT  PAUL. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

RETURN  OF  PAUL  TO  JERUSALEM. 

PAUL  and  the  deputies  of  the  churches  set  out  from  Cenchrea, 
having  with  them  the  contributions  of  the  faithful  for  the  poor 
of  Jerusalem,  and  directed  their  course  towards  Macedonia.1  It 
was  to  some  degree  the  first  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land,  the 
first  voyage  of  a  band  of  pious  converts  to  the  cradle  of  their 
faith.  It  appears  that  the  vessel,  during  a  part  of  the  voyage,3 
was  freighted  at  their  expense,  and  obeyed  their  orders,  but  it 
must  have  been  a  simple  decked  boat.  They  made  fifteen  or 
twenty  leagues  a  day.  Every  evening  they  stopped  to  pass  the 
night  in  the  islands  or  ports  with  which  the  coast  is  filled.2 
They  slept  in  the  inns  near  the  beach.  There  were  often  peo- 
ple there,  and  among  their  number  good -hearted  ones,  who  were 
near  to  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  boat,  with  its  high  stern  and 
prow,  was  drawn  up  on  the  sand,  or  anchored  under  some  shel- 
ter. It  is  not  known  whether  the  apostle  landed  at  Thessalonica. 
It  is  not  probable.  It  would  have  been  a  great  detour.  At 
Neapolis,  Paul  wished  to  go  and  visit  the  church  of  Philippi, 
which  was  not  far  distant.  He  sent  all  his  companions  on  ahead, 
and  asked  them  to  wait  for  him  at  Troas.  He  himself  went 
to  Philippi,4  celebrated  the  passover  there,  and  spent  in  repose 
with  those  he  loved  best  in  the  world,  the  seven  days  in  which 
they  ate  the  unleavened  bread.  At  Philippi,  Paul  again  met 
the  disciple  who  upon  his  second  mission  had  influenced  him 
to  go  to  Macedonia ;  and  who,  according  to  all  probabilities, 
was  no  other  than  Luke.  He  took  him  with  him  again,  and 
thus  attached  to  himself  a  narrator  destined  to  transmit  to  us 
the  impressions  of  the  voyage  with  an  infinite  charm  and  variety.6 
When  the  days  of  unleavened  bread  were  passed,  Paul  and  Luke 
re-embarked  at  Neapolis.8  They  doubtless  had  adverse  winds, 
for  it  took  them  five  days  to  go  from  Neapolis  to  Troas.  In 


SAINT  PAUL.  293 

this  latter  city,  the  apostolic  troupe  became  entirely  complete. 
There  was,  as  we  have  already  said,  a  church  at  Troas.  The 
apostle  passed  seven  days  with  it,  and  consoled  it  greatly.  An 
incident  added  to  the  general  emotion.  The  day  before  the 
departure  was  Sunday.  In  the  evening  the  disciples  had  united, 
according  to  custom,  to  break  bread  together.  The  room  in 
which  they  were,  was  one  of  those  high  chambers  which  are  so 
agreeable  in  the  East,  —  above  all.  in  seaports.  The  gathering 
was  large  and  solemn.  Paul  continued  to  see  everywhere  the 
signs  of  his  coming  afflictions.7  In  his  discourse,  he  reverted  un- 
ceasingly to  his  approaching  end,  and  declared  to  those  present 
that  he  was  bidding  them  an  eternal  adieu.  It  was  in  the  month 
of  May,  the  window  was  open,  and  the  room  lighted  by  numerous 
lamps.  Paul  spoke  the  whole  evening  with  an  unwearied  ani- 
mation. At  midnight  he  was  still  speaking,  and  they  had  not 
yet  broken  bread,  when  suddenly  a  cry  of  horror  went  up.  A 
young  man  named  Eutychus,  seated  on  the  sill  of  the  window, 
had  sunk  into  a  deep  sleep,  and  had  just  fallen  from  the  third 
story  to  the  ground.  They  take  him  up  :  they  believe  him  to  be 
dead.  Paul,  certain  of  his  miraculous  powers,  does  not  hesitate 
to  do  what  Elisha8is  said  to  have  done.  He  throws  himself 
upon  the  insensible  young  man,  places  his  own  breast  upon 
his  breast,  his  arms  upon  those  of  the  youth,  and  soon  he  an- 
nounces with  confidence  that  he  whom  they  weep,  is  still  alive. 
The  young  man,  in  fact,  had  only  been  bruised  by  the  fall :  he 
was  not  long  in  coming  to  himself.  The  joy  was  great,  and 
all  believed  it  to  be  a  miracle.  They  again  ascended  into  the 
upper  chamber,  and  when  they  had  broken  bread  Paul  continued 
talking  till  the  morning. 

A  few  hours  after,  the  vessel  set  sail.  The  deputies  and  the 
disciples  alone  went  on  board.  Paul  preferred  to  make  the 
journey  from  Troas  to  Assos9  (about  eight  leagues)  on  foot,  or 
at  least  by  land.  Assos  was  named  as  rendezvous,  where,  in 
fact,  they  all  met  again.  From  this  moment  Paul  and  his  com- 
panions leave  each  other  no  more.  The  first  day  they  went 
25* 


294  SAINT  PAUL. 

from  Assos  to  Mitylene,10  where  they  went  into  port ;  the  second 
day  they  followed  the  strait  between  Chios  and  the  peninsula  of 
Clazomenes ;  the  third  they  touched  at  Samos,11  but  for  a  reason 
unknown  to  us,  Paul  and  his  companions  preferred  to  go  and 
pass  the  night  at  the  anchorage  of  Trogilium,  under  the  point 
of  the  neighboring  cape  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Mycale.12  They 
thus  passed  in  front  of  Ephesus  without  stopping.  It  was  the 
apostle  who  desired  it.  He  feared  lest  the  friendship  of  the 
faithful  of  Ephesus  should  detain  him,  and  that  he  would  not  be 
able  to  tear  himself  away  from  a  city  which  was  dear  to  him ; 
for  he  placed  great  importance  upon  celebrating  Pentecost  at 
Jerusalem,  and  as  twenty-three  or  twenty-four  days  had  elapsed 
since  the  passover,  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost.  Next  day  a 
short  sail  carried  the  faithful  troop  from  Trogilium  to  one  of 
the  ports  of  Miletus.13  There  Paul  experienced  a  lively  remorse 
for  having  passed  Ephesus  without  having  communicated  with 
his  dear  community.  He  sent  one  of  his  companions  to  inform 
them  that  he  was  only  a  few  leagues  from  them,  and  to  invite 
the  elders  or  overseers  to  come  to  him.  They  went  with  eager- 
ness, and,  when  they  were  united,  Paul  addressed  them  in  a 
feeling  discourse,  the  summing  up  and  last  expressions  of  his 
apostolic  life.14 

"Ye  know,  from  the  first  day  that  I  came  into  Asia,  after 
what  manner  I  have  been  with  you  at  all  seasons, 

"Serving  the  Lord  with  all  humility  of  mind,  and  with  many 
tears,  and  temptations,  which  befell  me  by  the  lying  in  wait  of 
the  Jews : 

"And  how  I  kept  back  nothing  that  was  profitable  unto  you, 
but  have  shewed  you,  and  have  taught  you  publicly,  and  from 
house  to  house, 

"Testifying  both  to  the  Jews,  and  also  to  the  Greeks,  repent- 
ance toward  God,  and  faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"And  now,  behold,  I  go  bound  in  the  spirit  unto  Jerusalem, 
not  knowing  the  things  that  shall  befall  me  there : 

"Save  that  the  Holy  Ghost  witnesseth  in  every  city,  saying 
that  bonds  and  afflictions  abide  me.15 


SAINT  PAUL.  295 

••Hut  none  of  these  things  move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life 
dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy,  and 
the  ministry,  which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify 
the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God. 

"  And  now,  behold,  I  know  that  ye  all,  among  whom  I  have 
gone  preaching  the  kingdom  of  God,  shall  see  my  face  no  more. 

"Wherefore  I  take  you  to  record  this  day,  that  I  am  pure 
from  the  blood  of  all  men. 

"  For  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare  unto  you  all  the  counsel 
of  God. 

"Take  heed  therefore  unto  yourselves,  and  to  all  the  flock, 
over  the  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  overseers,  to 
feed  the  church  of  God,  which  he  hath  purchased  with  his  own 
blood. 

"For  I  know  this,  that  after  my  departing  shall  grievous 
wolves  enter  in  among  you,  not  sparing  the  flock. 

"Also  of  your  own  selves  shall  men  arise,  speaking  perverse 
things,  to  draw  away  disciples  after  them.16 

"Therefore  watch,  and  remember  that  by  the  space  of  three 
years  I  ceased  not  to  warn  every  one  night  and  day  with  tears. 

"And  now,  brethren,  I  commend  you  to  God,  and  to  the  word 
of  his  grace,  which  is  able  to  build  you  up,  and  to  give  you  an 
inheritance  among  all  them  which  are  sanctified. 

"I  have  coveted  no  man's  silver,  or  gold,  or  apparel. 

"  Yea,  ye  yourselves  know  that  these  hands  have  ministered 
unto  my  necessities,  and  to  them  that  were  with  me. 

"  I  have  shewed  you  all  things,  how  that  so  laboring  ye  ought 
to  support  the  weak,  and  to  remember  the  words  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  how  he  said,  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." 

Then  all  knelt  and  prayed.  There  was  naught  heard  but  a 
stifled  sobbing.  Paul's  words,  "ye  shall  see  my  face  no  more," 
had  pierced  their  hearts.  In  turn,  the  elders  of  Ephesus  fell  on 
the  apostle's  neck  and  kissed  him.  They  then  accompanied 
him  to  the  port,  and  did  not  leave  the  shore  until  the  vessel  set 
sail,  bearing  the  apostle  far  away  from  this  JEgezn  Sea  which 


296  SAINT  PAUL. 

had  been  as  the  camp  of  his  struggles,  and  the  theatre  of  his 
wonderful  activity. 

A  good  fair  wind  bore  the  apostolic  troop  from  the  port  of 
Miletus  to  Coos.  The  next  day  they  reached  Rhodes,17  and 
the  third  day  Patara,18  on  the  coast  of  Lycia.  There  they  found 
a  ship  which  was  loading  for  Tyre.  The  little  coasting-vessel, 
which  had  until  then  borne  them  along  the  coasts  of  Asia,  would 
have  greatly  retarded  them  had  they  been  obliged  to  follow  the 
coasts  of  Pamphylia,  Cilicia,  Syria,  and  .Phenicia.  They  pre- 
ferred to  cut  their  route  short,  and  leaving  their  first  vessel 
there,  they  went  on  board  the  one  which  was  setting  sail  for 
Phenicia.  The  western  coast  of  Cyprus  lay  exactly  in  their 
course.  Paul  could  see  at  a  distance  that  Nea-Paphos  which 
he  had  visited  thirteen  years  before,  at  the  commencement  of 
his  apostolic  career.  He  passed  this  on  his  left,  and,  at  the  end 
probably  of  a  six  or  seven  days'  sail,  arrived  at  Tyre. 

Tyre  had  a  church  dating  from  the  first  missions  which  sur- 
vived the  death  of  Stephen.19  Although  Paul  had  taken  no  part 
in  its  establishment,  he  was  known20  and  loved  there.  In  the 
dispute  which  divided  the  young  sect,  — in  this  broil  between 
Judaism  and  the  strange  child  to  which  Judaism  had  given 
birth,  —  the  church  of  Tyre  was  decidedly  of  the  party  of  the 
future.  Paul  was  very  well  received,  and  passed  seven  days 
there.  All  the  inspired  ones  of  the  place  dissuaded  him  strongly 
from  going  to  Jerusalem.  They  affirmed  that  they  had  had 
manifestations  of  the  Spirit  absolutely  opposed  to  this  plan. 
But  Paul  persisted,  and  chartered  a  vessel  for  Ptolemais.21  On 
the  day  of  their  departure,  all  the  faithful,  with  their  wives  and 
children,  accompanied  them  out  of  the  city  to  the  shore.  The 
pious  assemblage  knelt  down  upon  the  sand  and  prayed.  Then 
they  bade  each  other  adieu.  The  apostle  and  his  companions 
embarked,  and  the  Tyrians  returned  sorrowful  to  their  homes. 
The  same  day  they  reached  Ptolemais.  Here  also  were  several 
of  the  brethren.  They  went  to  salute  them,  and  remained  a  day 
with  them.  Then  the  apostle  journeyed  no  longer  by  water. 


SAINT  PAUL.  297 

Skirting  Carmcl,  he  reached  Cesarea  of  Palestine  in  one  day. 
They  lodged  at  the  house  of  Philip,  one  of  the  seven  primitive 
deacons,  who,  for  long  years,  had  been  established  at  Cesarea." 
Philip  had  not  assumed,  like  Paul,  the  title  of  apostle,  although 
he  had  in  reality  exercised  its  functions.  He  had  contented 
himself  with  the  name  of  "Evangelist,"  which  designated  apostle 
of  second  rank,23  and  with  the  still  more  prized  title  of  "one  of 
the  seven." 

Here  again  Paul  met  with  much  sympathy.  He  remained 
several  days  with  Philip.  While  he  was  there,  the  prophet 
Agabus  arrived  from  Judea.  Paul  and  he  had  known  each  other 
at  Antioch,  fourteen  years  before.  Agabus  imitated  the  style  of 
the  old  prophets,24  and  affected  to  act  in  a  symbolical  manner. 
He  enters  with  a  mysterious  air,  approaches  Paul  and  takes  him 
by  the  girdle.  They  follow  his  movements  with  curiosity  and 
fear.  With  the  apostle's  girdle,  which  he  takes,  he  binds  his 
own  hands  and  feet,  then,  suddenly  breaking  the  silence,  he 
said,  with  an  inspired  tone,  "The  Holy  Ghost  saith  this:  So 
shall  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem  bind  the  man  that  owneth  this 
girdle,  and  shall  deliver  him  into  the  hands  of  the  Gentiles."  All 
hearts  were  touched.  The  companions  of  Paul  and  the  faithful 
of  Cesarea,  with  one  voice,  begged  Paul  to  renounce  his  journey. 
Paul  was  inflexible,  and  declared  that  he  had  no  fear  of  chains, 
since  he  was  ready  to  die  at  Jerusalem  for  the  name  of  Jesus. 
His  disciples  saw  well  that  he  would  not  yield,  and  concluded 
by  saying,  "The  will  of  the  Lord  be  done!"  They  then  set 
about  preparing  for  departure.  Several  of  the  faithful  of  Cesarea 
joined  the  caravan.  Mnason  of  Cyprus,  a  very  old  disciple, 
who  had  a  house  at  Jerusalem,  but  who  was  at  this  moment  at 
Cesarea,  was  of  the  number.  The  apostle  and  his  suite  were 
to  lodge  with  him.  They  were  distrustful  of  the  reception  that 
would  be  accorded  to  them  by  the  church.  There  was  much 
trouble  and  anxiety  in  the  whole  band. 


298  SAINT  PAUL. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

LAST  SOJOURN    OF    ST.   PAUL   AT   JERUSALEM. HIS    ARREST. 

PAUL  entered  into  this  fatal  city  of  Jerusalem  for  the  last  time, 
apparently,  a  few  days  after  the  feast  of  the  Pentecost1  (July,  58). 
His  suite,  composed  of  delegates  from  the  churches  of  Greece, 
Macedonia,  and  Asia,  of  his  disciples  and  the  faithful  of 
Cesarea,  who  had  desired  to  accompany  him,  must  have  been 
sufficient  to  put  the  Jews  on  the  alert.  Paul  commenced  to  be 
well  known.  His  arrival  was  expected  by  the  fanatics  who  had 
probably  received  from  Corinth  and  Ephesus  the  news  of  his 
return.  Jews  and  Jewish-Christians  appeared  to  approve  of 
slandering  him.  They  represented  him  everywhere  as  an  apostate, 
as  the  furious  enemy  of  Judaism,  as  a  man  who  was  going  about 
everywhere  to  destroy  the  law  of  Moses  and  biblical  traditions.8 
His  doctrine  concerning  meats  sacrificed  to  idols,  especially,  ex- 
cited great  anger.3  They  sustained  that  he  disobeyed  the  articles 
of  the  council  of  Jerusalem,  concerning  the  observances  rela- 
tive to  meats  and  marriage.  They  represented  him  as  a  second 
Balaam,  sowing  scandal  before  the  children  of  Israel,  teaching 
them  to  practice  idolatry,  and  to  fornicate  with  the  heathen.4 
His  doctrine  concerning  justification  through  faith  and  not 
through  works,  was  energetically  rejected.5  While  admitting 
that  the  converted  heathen  were  not  bound  by  the  entire  law, 
nothing  could  free  a  Jew  from  duties  inherent  in  his  race.6  Now 
Paul  paid  no  attention  to  this.  He  assumed  the  same  liberties 
as  his  converts.  He  was  no  longer  a  Jew  in  any  respect. 

The  first  brethren  whom  the  new-comers  met,  on  the  day  of 
their  arrival,  received  them  well.7  But  it  is  very  remarkable 
that  neither  the  apostles  nor  the  elders  went  to  meet  him,  who, 
accomplishing  the  boldest  oracles  of  the  prophets,  brought  the 
nations  from  distant  isles  as  tributaries  of  Jerusalem.  They 
awaited  his  visit  with  a  coldness  more  politic  than  Christian,  and 


SAINT  PAUL.  299 

Paul  must  have  passed  alone,  with  a  few  humble  brethren,  the 
first  evening  of  his  last  sojourn  in  Jerusalem. 

James  Obliam  was,  as  we  have  already  seen,  the  sole  and 
absolute  chief  of  the  church  of  Jerusalem.     Peter  was  certainly 
absent,  and  very  probably  established  at  Antioch.     It   is  pre- 
sumable that  John,  according  to  his  custom,8  accompanied  him. 
The  Jewish-Christian  party  thus  reigned  at  Jerusalem,  without 
counterpoise.     James,  blinded  by  the  respect   shown   him  by 
every  one,  —  proud,    moreover,   of    the   bond   of    relationship 
which  united  him  to  Jesus,  represented  a  principle  of  preserva- 
tion and  of  heavy  solemnity,  a  sort  of  obstinate  papacy,  in  his 
narrow  mind.     Around  him  a  numerous  party,  more  Pharisean 
than  Christian,  carried  the  inclination  for  legal  observances  to 
almost  the  same  degree  as  the  zealots,  and  imagined  that  the 
essence   of  the   new  movement  was  a  redoubled   devotion.9 
These  exalted  ones  gave  themselves  the  name  of  "beggars," 
ebionim  (TTTG^XOI),  and  gloried  in  it.10     There  were  several  rich 
ones  in  the  community,  but  their  reputation  was  bad.     They 
were  regarded  as  haughty,  and  as  tyrannical  as  the  Sadducees.11 
Fortune  in  the  Orient  has  scarcely  ever  .an  honest  source.     It 
can  be  said  of  every  rich  man,  without  much  chance  of  being 
wrong,  that  either  he  or  one  of  his  ancestors  was  a  conqueror,  a 
thief,  extortioner,    or  sordid12  man.     The  connection  of  ideas 
which   leads   one,  especially  among   the    English,  to   associate 
honor'  and  wealth   rather  closely,  never  was  the   case   in   the 
Orient.     Judea,  at  least,  had  an  opposite  idea  of  things.     With 
the  saints  of  Jerusalem  "rich"  was  synonymous  with  "inimical1' 
and.  "  wicked"  13     The  ideal  of  the  ungodly  was,  in  their  eyes, 
the  wealthy  Sadducee  who  persecuted  them,  and  dragged  them 
before  the  tribunals.14     Passing  their  lives  around  the  temple, 
they  resembled  good  little  brethren  occupied  in  praying  for  the 
people.     They  were,  at  any  rate,  downright  Jews  ;  and  certainly 
Jesus  would  have  been  surprised  if  he  could  have  seen  what  his 
doctrine  was  becoming  in  the  hands  of  those  who  boasted  of 
being  nearest  to  him  in  spirit  and  blood. 


300  SAINT  PAUL. 

Paul,  accompanied  by  the  deputies  of  the  churches,  went  to 
see  James  the  day  after  his  arrival.15  All  the  elders  were  as- 
sembled in  the  house  of  Obliam.  They  exchanged  the  saluta- 
tion of  peace.  Paul  presented  the  deputies  to  James.  The 
former  gave  him  the  alms  which  they  had  brought.  Then  he 
related  the  great  things  which  God  had  done  in  the  heathen 
world,  through  his  ministry.  The  elders  returned  thanks  to 
God.  Was  the  reception,  however,  what  could  have  been  ex- 
pected ?  Doubtful.  The  author  of  the  Acts  has  so  completely 
modified,  according  to  his  system  of  conciliation,  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  assembly  at  Jerusalem  in  5i,16  that  we  are  justified 
in -believing  that  he,  in  his  recital,  also  greatly  mitigated  the  facts 
under  consideration  at  this  moment.  In  the  first  case  his  inac- 
curacy is  proved  to  us  by  a  comparison  with  the  Epistle  to  the 
Galatians.  In  the  second,  grave  reasons  lead  us  to  suppose 
that  he  likewise  sacrificed  the  truth  to  political  necessity.  At 
first,  the  apprehensions  indulged  in,  in  advance,  by  Paul,  concern- 
ing the  disposition  with  which  the  saints  at  Jerusalem  will  accept 
his  offering,17  could  not  have  been  without  some  foundation. 
In  the  second  place,  the  recital  of  the  author  of  the  Acts  con- 
tains more  than  one  ambiguous  feature.  The  Jewish-Christians 
are  represented  by  him  as  enemies  of  Paul,  almost  equal  to 
genuine  Jews.  These  Jewish-Christians  had  the  very  worst 
opinion  of  him.  The  elders  do  not  conceal  from  Paul  that 
the  report  of  his  arrival  will  displease  them,  and  probably  pro- 
voke a  manifestation  on  their  part.  The  elders  do  not  ac- 
knowledge themselves  as  sharing  these  prejudices,  but  they 
apologize  for  them.  At  any  rate,  it  is  plain,  from  their  words, 
that  a  large  portion  of  the  Christians  of  Jerusalem,  far  from  be- 
ing ready  to  receive  the  apostle  well,  stood  in  need  of  being 
conciliated^  and  reconciled  with  him.18  It  is  also  remarkable 
that  the  author  of  the  Acts  does  not  speak  of  the  collection, 
except  late  and  in  the  most  indirect  manner.19  If  the  offering 
was  accepted,  as  it  should  have  been,  why  does  he  not  say  so, 
when  Paul,  in  three  of  his  epistles,20  devotes  whole  pages  to  this 


SAINT  PAUL.  301 

project  ?  It  can  not  be  denied  that  Simon  the  Magician,  in 
most  of  the  cases  in  which  Christian  tradition  occupies  itself 
with  him,  is  the  pseudonym  of  the  apostle  Paul.21  Could  not 
the  recital,  according  to  which  this  impostor  wished  to  purchase aa 
apostolic  powers  with  money,  be  a  transformation  of  the  bad 
reception  accorded  the  collection  of  Paul  by  the  apostles  of 
Jerusalem?  It  would  be  rash  to  affirm  it.23  Nevertheless, 
that  a  college  of  malevolent  teachers  should  have  represented 
the  generous  act  of  a  colleague  who  was  opposed  to  them,  as 
an  attempt  at  corruption,  is  very  admissible.  If  the  elders  of 
Jerusalem  were  not  filled  with  the  most  contracted  opinions, 
how  can  we  explain  the  strange  discourse  attributed  to  them  by 
the  author  of  the  Acts,  and  one  which  betrays  all  their  per- 
plexity? Scarcely  had  the  return  of  thanks  been  concluded, 
than  they  say  to  Paul : 24  — 

"  Thou  seest,  brother,  how  many  thousands  of  Jews  there 
are  which  believe ;  and  they  are  all  zealous  of  the  law. 

"  And  they  are  informed  of  thee,  that  thou  teachest  all  the 
Jews  which  are  among  the  Gentiles  to  forsake  Moses,  saying 
that  they  ought  not  to  circumcise  their  children,  neither  to  walk 
after  the  customs. 

"  What  is  it  therefore  ?  the  multitude  must  needs  come  to- 
gether ;  for  they  will  hear  that  thou  art  come.25 

"  Do  therefore  this  that  we  say  to  thee  :  We  have  four  men 
which  have  a  vow  on  them ; 

"  Them  take,  and  purify  thyself  with  them,  and  be  at  charges 
with  them,  that  they  may  shave  their  heads  :  and  all  may  know 
that  those  things,  whereof  they  were  informed  concerning  thee, 
are  nothing ;  but  that  thou  thyself  also  walkest  orderly  and 
keepest  the  law." 

Thus  these  shallow  minds  can  only  reply  with  language  of 
distrust  to  him  who  brings  them  the  homage  of  a  world.  Paul 
will  be  obliged  to  expiate  his  prodigious  conquests  by  hypo- 
crisy. He  must  give  pledges  to  littleness  of  mind.  It  is  when  they 
shall  have  seen  him  with  four  beggars,  too  poor  to  have  their 
26 


302  SAINT  PAUL. 

heads  shaved  at  their  own  expense,  fulfil  a  popular  superstition, 
that  they  will  recognize  him  as  colleague.  Such  is  the  strange 
condition  of  humanity,  that  we  must  not  be  surprised  at  such 
a  spectacle.  Men  are  too  numerous  for  it  to  be  possible 
to  establish  anything  here  below,  without  making  concessions 
to  mediocrity.  In  order  to  disregard  the  scruples  of  the  weak, 
one  must  be  either  completely  disinterested  in  the  action, 
or  else  very  powerful.  Those  whom  their  position  obliges 
to  reckon  with  the  crowd  are  led  to  demand  singular  incon- 
sistencies from  great  and  independent  men.  Every  vigorously 
asserted  thought  is  an  encumbrance  in  the  government  of 
the  world.  Vindication  and  proselytism,  when  they  imply 
a  little  genius,  are  suspected  things  to  the  conservative  parties. 
Look  at  those  eloquent  laymen,  who,  in  our  day,  have  attempted 
to  enlarge  Catholicism,  and  to  conciliate  for  it  the  sympathies 
of  a  portion  of  society,  until  then  closed  against  religious  sen- 
timent,—  what  have  they  obtained  from  the  church  to  which 
they  brought  crowds  of  new  adherents  ?  A  disavowal.  The 
successors  of  James  Obliam  have  found  it  prudent  to  condemn 
them,  even  while  profiting  by  their  success.  They  accepted  their 
offering,  without  thanks.  They  said  to  them,  as  to  Paul,  "  Breth- 
ren, ye  see  these  thousands  of  old  believers,  who  hold  to  things 
which  ye  pass  over  in  silence ;  when  ye  speak  to  people  of 
the  world  take  care ;  put  aside  novelties  which  scandalize,  and 
sanctify  yourselves  with  us." 

What  will  Paul  do,  placed  between  his  great  principle  of 
the  uselessness  of  works,  and  the  immense  interest  which 
he  had  in  not  breaking  with  the  church  of  Jerusalem  ?  His 
position  must  have  been  painful.  Submit  to  a  practice  which 
he  considered  useless,  and  almost  injurious  to  Jesus,  since 
it  allowed  one  to  believe  that  salvation  is  obtained  through 
other  things  than  the  merits  of  Christ,  was  to  place  himself 
in  flagrant  contradiction  with  the  doctrine  that  he  had  every- 
where preached,  and  which,  in  his  great  circular  epistle,  in 
particular,  he  had  developed  with  unparalleled  force.  Why, 


SAINT  PAUL.  303 

moreover,  do  they  ask  him  to  re-establish  an  antiquated  rite, 
destitute  of  all  efficacy,  and  almost  a  denial  of  the  new  dogma  ? 
To  show  that  he  is  a  Jew,  to  refute  in  a  peremptory  manner 
the  report  in  circulation  that  he  had  ceased  to  be  a  Jew,  that 
he  no  longer  acknowledged  the  law  or  traditions.  Now,  most 
assuredly  he  did  no  longer  acknowledge  them.  Was  not  a 
connivance  at  this  deception  an  infidelity  towards  Christ  ? 
All  this  must  have  caused  Paul  to  pause,  and  agitated  him 
most  deeply.  But  a  superior  principle  which  guided  his  life, 
led  him  to  overcome  his  repugnances.  Paul  placed  charity 
above  opinions  and  individual  sentiments.  Christ  delivered 
us  from  all  law ;  but  if,  by  profiting  by  the  liberty  which  Christ 
has  given  us,  we  scandalize  his  brother,  it  is  better  to  renounce 
this  liberty,  and  give  one's  self  up  to  slavery.  It  is  in  virtue 
of  this  principle  that  Paul,  as  he  says  himself,  became  every- 
thing to  all  men,  —  a  Jew  with  Jews,  a  Gentile  with  the 
Gentiles.28  In  accepting  the  proposition  of  James  and  the 
elders,  he  made  application  of  his  favorite  principle.  Therefore 
he  submitted.  Never,  perhaps,  in  his  apostolic  life,  did  he 
make  a  greater  sacrifice  to  his  work.  These  heroes  of  prac- 
tical life  have  other  duties  than  the  heroes  of  contemplative 
life.  The  first  duty  of  the  latter  is  to  sacrifice  their  activity 
to  their  ide'a,  —  to  say  all  they  think,  nothing  except  what  they 
think,  in  the  exact  measure  in  which  they  think  it.  The 
first  duty  of  the  others  is,  often,  to  sacrifice  their  ideas,  at 
times  even  their  most  fixed  principles,  to  the  interests  of  the 
cause  which  they  are  seeking  to  render  triumphant. 

What  they  asked  of  Paul,  moreover,  was  less  to  make 
himself  a  Nazarite,"  than  to  take  upon  himself  the  ordinary 
expenses  of  four  Nazarites,  >vho  had  nothing  wherewith  to 
pay  the  sacrifices  made  upon  this  kind  of  occasion.  This 
was  a  highly  esteemed  work  among  the  Jews.  There  were 
around  the  temple  multitudes  of  poor  people  who  had  made 
vows,  and  who  were  waiting  till  some  rich  person  should 
pay  for  them.  "To  have  a  Nazarite  shorn"  was  an  act 


304  SAINT  PAUL. 

of  piety;  and  occasions  are  quoted  in  which  powerful  per- 
sonages, by  way  of  thanks  for  a  signal  favor  from  heaven, 
had  hundreds  of  them  shaven,28 — just  about  as  it  was  meri- 
torious in  the  Middle  Ages  to  pay  people  for  making  pilgrimages 
and  entering  into  monastic  institutions.  Paul,  in  the  midst 
of  the  misery  which  existed  in  the  church  of  Jerusalem, 
was  considered  wealthy.  They  requested  him  to  perform 
the  act  of  a  rich  devotee,  and  to  prove  to  all,  by  a  notorious 
proceeding,  that  he  had  remained  faithful  to  the  practices 
of  his  country.  James,  much  given  to  outward  observances, 
was  probably  the  inspirer  of  this  fantastic  idea.  They  made 
haste  to  add,  moreover,  that  such  obligations  in  no  wise  con- 
cerned the  converted  heathen.29  It  was  simply  a  question 
of  not  allowing  credence  to  be  attached  to  the  frightful  scandal 
that  it  was  possible  for  a  Jew  not  to  practice  the  law  of  Moses. 
So  great  was  the  fanaticism  inspired  by  the  law,  that  such 
a  phenomenon  would  have  appeared  more  extraordinary  than 
the  ruin  of  the  world  and  total  overthrow  of  creation. 

Paul,  therefore,  joined  himself  to  the  four  beggars.  Those 
who  fulfilled  such  vows  began  by  purifying  themselves ;  then 
they  entered  the  temple,  remained  shut  up  there  a  certain 
number  of  days,  according  to  the  vow  which  they  had  made 
(especially  seven  and  thirty  days),  abstained  from  wine,  and 
had  their  hair  shorn.  When  the  number  of  days  was  passed, 
they  offered  sacrifices  which  they  paid  for  at  rather  a  high 
price.30  Paul  submitted  to  everything.  The  day  after  his 
visit  to  James,  he  went  to  the  temple  and  inscribed  himself 
for  seven  days ;  then  he  performed  all  the  customary  rites, 
—  a  greater  man  during  these  days  of  humiliation,  in  which 
through  voluntary  weakness  he  fulfilled  an  act  of  antiquated 
devotion  among  people  in  rags,  than  when  he  displayed  the 
force  and  independence  of  his  genius  at  Corinth  or  Thessalonica. 

Paul  had  already  reached  the  fifth  day  of  his  vow,31  when 
an  incident  which  was  but  too  easy  to  foresee,  decided  the 
remainder  of  his  career,  and  brought  upon  him  a  series  of 


SAINT  PAUL.  305 

tribulations,  from  which,  probably,  he  was  only  freed  through 
death. 

During  the  seven  days  which  had  elapsed  since  his  arrival 
at  Jerusalem,  the  hatred  of  the  Jews  against  him  was  fearfully 
exasperated.  The  first  or  second  day  of  his  arrival,  he  had 
been  seen  walking  in  the  city  with  Trophimus  of  Ephesus, 
who  was  not  circumcised.  Some  Jews  from  Asia  recognized 
Trophimus,  and  circulated  the  report  that  Paul  had  introduced 
him  into  the  temple.  This  was  certainly  false  ;  besides,  it  would 
have  been  exposing  one's  self  to  the  peril  of  too  certain  a  death. 
Doubtless,  Paul  had  not  for  one  moment  the  thought  of  letting 
his  Christians  take  part  in  the  religious  practices  of  the  temple. 
For  him,  these  practices  were  stricken  with  sterility.  Their 
continuation  was  almost  an  insult  to  the  merits  of  Christ.  But 
religious  hatred  satisfies  itself  at  little  cost,  when  there  is 
question  of  finding  a  pretext  for  violence.  The  populace 
of  Jerusalem  was  soon  persuaded  that  Paul  had  committed 
a  crime  which  could  only  be  washed  out  in  blood.  Like  all 
great  revolutionists,  Paul  had  reached  the  impossibility  of  living. 
The  enmities  which  he  had  raised  up  were  going  to  league 
together.  He  was  beginning  to  stand  alone.  His  companions 
were  strangers  at  Jerusalem.  The  Christians  of  that  city  consid- 
ered him  an  enemy,  and  almost  joined  hands  with  the  fanatica 
Jews  against  him.  By  attentively  analysing  certain  features 
of  the  recital  of  the  Acts,33  by  making  allowance  for  the  reite- 
rated warnings,  which,  during  the  entire  return  journey,  informed 
Paul  of  the  snares  prepared  for  him  at  Jerusalem,33  the  question 
suggests  itself,  Did  not  these  Jewish-Christians,  of  whose  malevo- 
lent dispositions  the  elders  make  confession,  and  on  the  part 
of  whom  the  fear  of  hostile  demonstration,  contribute  to 
increase  the  storm  which  was  going  to  burst  upon  the  apostle  ? 
Clement  the  Roman  attributes  the  ruin  of  the  apostle  "to 
envy."  34  This  is  dreadful  to  think  of,  but  it  is  very  conformable 
to  the  iron  law  which  will  rule  human  affairs  until  God's  day  of 
final  triumph.  I  am  wrong,  perhaps,  but  when  I  read  this 
26* 


306  SAINT  PAUL. 

twenty-first  chapter  of  the  Acts  an  uncontrollable  suspicion 
arises  within  me.  I  do  not  know  what  whispers  to  me  that 
Paul  was  ruined  by  these  "false  brethren,"  who  followed  him 
about  the  world  in  order  to  frustrate  his  work,  and  represent 
him  as  a  second  Balaam. 

However,  it  may  be  the  signal  for  the  disturbance  came  from 
the  Jews  of  Asia,  who  had  seen  him  with  Trophimus.  They 
recognized  him  in  the  temple,  where  he  was  fulfilling  the  ordi- 
nances with  the  Nazarites.  "  Help  !  children  of  Israel ! "  they 
cried,  "here  is  a  man  who  everywhere  declaims  against  the 
Jewish  people,  against  the  law,  against  this  holy  place.  Here 
is  the  profaner  of  the  temple,  who  introduced  heathens  into  the 
sanctuary."  The  whole  city  was  soon  in  commotion.  A  great 
crowd  assembled.  The  fanatics  seized  Paul.  Their  determina- 
tion was  to  kill  him ;  but,  to  shed  blood  in  the  interior  of  the 
temple  would  have  been  a  pollution  of  the  holy  place.  They 
therefore  dragged  Paul  out  of  the  temple,  and  immediately  the 
Levites  closed  the  doors  behind  him.  They  then  set  about 
killing  him.  It  would  have  been  all  over  with  him  if  the  Roman 
authority,  which  alone  maintained  a  shadow  of  order  in  this 
chaos,  had  not  interfered  to  snatch  him  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
infuriated. 

The  procurator  of  Judea,  especially  since  the  death  of  Agrippa 
I.,  habitually  resided  at  Cesarea,35  a  profane  city,  ornamented 
with  statue,  sinimical  to  the  Jews,  and  in  everything  the  opposite 
to  Jerusalem.36  In  the  absence  of  the  procurator,  the  Roman 
authority  at  Jerusalem  was  represented  by  the  tribune  of  the 
cohort,  who  resided  with  his  entire  armed  force  in  the  tower  of 
Antonia,  at  the  northwest  angle  of  the  temple.  The  tribune,  at 
this  moment,  was  a  certain  Lysias,  of  Greek  or  Syrian  origin, 
who,  by  protections  purchased  with  money,  had  obtained  from 
Claudius  the  title  of  Roman  citizen,  and  had  from  that  time 
added  to  his  name  that  of  Claudius.37  At  the  news  of  the  up- 
rising, he  hastened  with  several  centurions  and  a  detachment  by 
one  of  the  stairways  which  placed  the  tower  in  communication 


SAINT  PAUL.  307 

with  the  parvises."  The  fanatics  then  ceased  beating  Paul. 
The  tribune  had  him  seized  and  bound  with  two  chains ;  de- 
manded who  he  was  and  what  he  had  done, — but  the  tumult 
prevented  anything  from  being  heard.  The  most  diverse  sounds 
were  mingled.  A  Jewish  uprising  was  something  fearful.  These 
coarse,  shrivelled  faces,  these  large  eyes  bulging  out  of  their 
orbits,  these  gnashings  of  teeth,  these  vociferations,  these  people 
throwing  dust  in  the  air,  tearing  their  clothes,  pulling  them  con- 
vulsively,30 reminded  one  of  demons.  Although  the  crowd  was 
unarmed,  the  Romans  continued  to  have  a  certain  fear  of  men 
so  enraged.  Claudius  Lysias  ordered  Paul  to  be  carried  into 
the  castle.  The  excited  crowd  followed  them,  uttering  cries  of 
death.  At  the  foot  of  the  stairs  the  throng  was  so  great  that 
the  soldiers  were  obliged  to  take  Paul  in  their  arms  and  carry 
him.  Claudius  Lysias  endeavored  in  vain  to  calm  the  fury. 
A  thought  without  much  reflection  struck  him,  or  probably  was 
suggested  to  him  by  badly  informed  persons.  He  imagined  that 
the  man  whom  he  had  just  arrested  was  the  Egyptian  Jew,  who, 
a  short  time  before,  had  led  with  him  into  the  desert  thousands 
of  zealots,  announcing  to  them  that  he  was  immediately  going 
to  fulfil  the  kingdom  of  God.40  It  was  not  known  what  had 
become  of  the  impostor,  and  at  each  uprising  they  expected  to 
see  him  reappear  among  the  agitators. 

When  they  had  reached  the  door  of  the  castle,  Paul  addressed 
the  tribune  in  Greek,  and  begged  him  to  let  him  speak  to  the 
people.  The  latter,  surprised  that  the  prisoner  should  under- 
stand Greek,  and  being  certain  at  least  that  he  was  not  the 
Egyptian  false  prophet,  granted  him  what  he  asked.41  Paul 
then,  standing  upon  the  steps  of  the  stairs,  made  a  sign  with  his 
hand  that  he  wished  to  speak.  Silence  followed,  and  when  they 
heard  him  speak  Hebrew  (that  is  to  say,  Syro-Chaldaic),  they 
paid  double  attention.  Paul  related,  in  his  usual  manner,  the 
history  of  his  conversion  and  his  calling.  They  soon  interrupted 
him.  The  cries,  "To  death!"  uTo  death!"  began  again.  The 
rage  was  at  its  height. 


308  SAINT  PAUL. 

The  tribune  ordered  the  prisoner  to  be  brought  into  the 
castle.  He  understood  nothing  about  this  affair.  Like  a  brutal 
and  stupid  soldier,  his  idea  was  to  examine  him  who  was  the 
cause  of  all  the  trouble,  in  order  to  clear  it  up.  They  seized 
Paul,  and  had  already  stretched  him  up  at  the  stake  in  order  to 
receive  the  lashes,  when  he  declared  to  the  centurion  who  was 
directing  the  torture,  that  he  was  a  Roman  citizen.42  The  effect 
of  this  announcement  was  very  great.  The  executioner  turned 
aside.  The  centurion  went  to  refer  it  to  the  tribune.  The 
tribune  was  much  surprised.  Paul  looked  like  a  poor  Jew.  "  Is  it 
true  thou  art  a  Roman  citizen  ?  "  asked  Claudius  of  him.  "Yes." 
"But  I  have  expended  a  considerable  sum  to  obtain  this  title." 
"And  I  have  it  by  birth,"  replied  Paul.  The  stupid  Claudius 
commenced  to  fear.  His  poor  brain  was  torturing  itself  to  dis- 
cover the  truth  of  this  affair.  The  outrages  against  the  rights 
of  Roman  citizens  were  prosecuted  in  a  very  severe  manner. 
The  sole  fact  of  having  bound  Paul  to  a  post,  with  a  view  to 
scourging  him,  was  a  crime.43  The  violence44  which  would  not 
have  been  heard  of,  had  there  only  been  question  of  an  obscure 
man,  might  now  assume  disagreeable  proportions.  Finally, 
Claudius  conceived  the  idea  of  convoking  the  chief  priest  and 
the  council  on  the  morrow,  in  order  to  know  what  grievance 
they  charged  against  Paul,  for,  as  for  himself,  he  saw  none.45 
The  high  priest  was  Ananias,  the  son  of  Nebedee,46  who,  by  a 
rare  exception,  had  held  this  high  position  for  ten  years.47  He 
was  a  man  much  thought  of,  in  spite  of  his  gormandizing,  which 
remained  proverbial  among  the  Jews.48  Independent  of  his 
office,  he  was  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  nation.49  He  belonged 
to  that  family  of  Hanan,50  which  one  was  sure  to  find  upon  the 
judge's  bench  whenever  there  was  question  of  condemning  Chris- 
tians, popular  saints,  and  innovators  of  all  kinds.  Ananias 
presided  at  the  assembly.  Claudius  Lysias  ordered  Paul  to  be 
freed  from  his  chains.  Then  he  had  him  brought  in.  He  himself 
was  present  at  the  discussions.  They  were  very  tumultuous. 
Ananias  flew  into  a  passion,  and  for  an  expression  which 


SAINT  PAUL.  309 

appeared  blasphemous  to  him,  ordered  his  assistants  to  smite 
Paul  on  the  mouth.  "  God  shall  smite  thee,  thou  whited  wall," 
replied  Paul.  "Thou  pretendest  to  judge  me  according  to  the 
law,  and  thou  commandest  me  to  be  smitten  contrary  to  the 
law."  "What!  revilest  thou  God's  high  priest?"  said  the  assis- 
tants. Paul,  bethinking  himself,  replied,  "  I  wist  not,  brethren, 
that  he  was  the  high  priest ;  for  it  is  written,  '  Thou  shalt  not 
speak  evil  of  the  ruler  of  thy  people.'  "51  This  moderation  was 
skillfully  calculated.  In  fact,  Paul  had  remarked  that  the  as- 
sembly was  divided  into  two  parties,  animated  in  regard  to  him 
with  entirely  different  sentiments.  The  high  Sadducean  clergy 
was  absolutely  hostile  to  him,  but  he  might  agree  to  a  certain 
point  with  the  Pharisean  bourgeoisie.™  "Brethren,"  cried  he, 
"I  am  a  Pharisee.  Know  ye  why  I  am  accused?  For  my 
hope  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead."  This  was  touching  a 
sore  spot.  The  Sadducees  denied  the  resurrection,  and  the 
existence  of  angels  and  spirits :  the  Pharisees  admitted  every- 
thing.53 Paul's  stratagem  succeeded  admirably.51  There  was 
soon  a  dissension  in  the  assembly.  The  Pharisees  and  Saddu- 
cees were  more  eager*  to  combat  each  other  than  to  destroy 
their  common  enemy.  Several  Pharisees  even  undertook  the 
defence  of  Paul,  and  pretended  to  find  the  recital  of  his  vision 
no  wise  improbable.  "  We  find  no  evil  in  this  man,"  said  they. 
"Who  knows  if  an  angel  or  spirit  hath  not  spoken  to  him?" 

Claudius  Lysias  listened  to  this  debate  with  his  mouth  open. 
It  was  incomprehensible  to  him.  Seeing  the  moment  arrive, 
when,  like  the  day  before,  Paul  was  on  the  point  of  being  torn 
to  pieces,  he  ordered  a  squad  of  soldiers  to  enter  the  room, 
take  Paul  out  of  their  hands,  and  lead  him  back  to  the  castle. 
Lysias  was  much  perplexed.  Paul,  however,  rejoiced  at  the 
glorious  testimony  which  he  had  just  given  of  Christ.  The  night 
following  he  had  a  vision.  Jesus  appeared  to  him,  and  said, 
"Be  of  good  cheer,  Paul,  for  as  thou  hast  testified  of  me  in 
Jerusalem,  so  must  thou  bear  witness  also  at  Rome." 

The  hatred  of  the  fanatics  did  not  slumber  during  this  time. 


310  SAINT  PAUL. 

A  certain  number  of  these  zealots,  or  assassins,  always  armed 
with  a  dagger  for  the  defence  of  the  law,  entered  into  a  con- 
spiracy to  kill  Paul.  They  bound  themselves  by  an  oath,  under 
the  most  terrible  anathemas,  not  to  eat  or  drink  while  Paul 
should  be  alive.55  There  were  more  than  forty  of  the  con- 
spirators. They  took  their  oath  on  the  morning  of  the  day 
which  followed  the  meeting  of  the  council.  To  attain  their 
ends,  they  went,  it  is  said,  to  the  priests,  informed  them  of  their 
plan,  and  engaged  them  to  intercede  with  the  tribune,  through 
the  council,  in  order  to  obtain  a  new  hearing  of  Paul  on  the 
morrow.  The  conspirators  were  to  seize  the  opportunity,  and 
kill  Paul  upon  his  appearance.  But  the  secret  of  the  plot  was 
ill-kept.  It  became  known  to  the  nephew  of  Paul,  who  resided 
in  Jerusalem.  The  former  hastens  to  the  barracks,  and  reveals 
everything  to  Paul.  Paul  has  him  conducted  to  Claudius  Lysias 
by  a  centurion.  The  tribune  takes  the  young  messenger  by  the 
hand,  leads  him  on  one  side,  obtains  from  him  all  the  details  of 
the  plot,  and  dismisses  him  with  directions  to  say  nothing.  From 
this  moment,  Claudius  Lysias  hesitated  no  longer.  He  resolved 
to  send  Paul  to  Cesarea,  in  order,  on  the  one  hand,  to  remove 
every  pretext  of  disturbance  at  Jerusalem ;  and  on  the  other,  to 
shift  this  difficult  matter  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  procurator. 
Two  centurions  received  the  order  to  prepare  an  escort  capable 
of  resisting  attempts  at  abduction.  The  escort  was  compose* , 
of  two  hundred  soldiers,  seventy  horsemen,  and  two  hundred  of 
those  guards 56  who  served  as  what  were  called  custodia  militarist 
that  is  to  say,  for  guarding  prisoners  bound  to  them  by  means 
of  a  chain  passing  from  the  right  hand  of  the  captive  to  the  left 
hand  of  his  keeper.  Beasts  for  Paul  were  also  ordered,  and 
the  whole  was  to  be  ready  at  the  third  hour  of  the  night  (nine 
o'clock  in  the  evening).  At  the  same  time,  Claudius  Lysias 
wrote  an  eloghim  to  the  procurator  Felix ;  that  is  to  say,  a  letter, 
in  which  he  informed  him  of  the  matter,  declaring  that  for  his 
part  he  saw  nothing  in  it,  excepting  trifling  questions  of  religion ; 
nothing  which  might  call  for  either  death  or  imprisonment ;  and 


SAINT  PAUL.  311 

further,  that  he  had  charged  the  accusers  that  they  would  also 
be  obliged  to  present  themselves  before  the  procurator. 

These  orders  were  punctually  executed.  They  made  a  forced 
march  by  night.  By  morning  they  reached  Antipatris,57  which  is 
more  than  half  way  between  Jerusalem  and  Cesarea.58  There, 
all  danger  of  surprise  having  disappeared,  the  escort  divided. 
The  four  hundred  infantry,  after  a  halt,  set  out  for  Jerusalem. 
The  detachment  of  cavalry  alone  accompanied  Paul  to  Cesarea. 
Thus  the  apostle  re-entered  (commencement  of  August,  58)  as 
a  prisoner,  the  city  which  he  had  left  twelve  days  before,59  in 
spite  of  the  sinister  warnings  which  his  customary  boldness  pre- 
vented him  from  heeding.  His  disciples  rejoined  him  shortly 
afterward.60 


312  SAINT  PAUL. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

CAPTIVITY   OF    PAUL   AT   CESAREA   OF   PALESTINE. 

FELIX  was  then  ruling  over  Judea,  with  the  power  of  a  king 
and  the  soul,  of  a  slave.1  He  was  the  freedman  of  Claudius, 
and  brother  of  that  Pallas  who  had  made  the  fortune  of  Agrip- 
pina  and  that  of  Nero.  He  had  all  the  immorality  of  his  brother, 
but  not  his  administrative  talents.  Appointed,  through  the  in- 
fluence of  Pallas,  procurator  of  Judea  in  52,  he  there  showed 
himself  cruel,  debauched,  and  avaricious.2  Nothing  was  above 
his  ambition.  He  was  successively  married  to  three  queens,3 
and  allied  by  marriage  to  the  Emperor  Claudius.4  At  the 
period  now  reached,  his  wife  was  Drusilla,  sister  of  Herod 
Agrippa  II.,  whom  he  had  taken  away  from  her  first  husband, 
Aziz,  king  of  Emessa,  by  infamous  proceedings.5  There  was 
no  crime  of  which  he  was  not  deemed  capable.  They  even 
went  so  far  as  to  accuse  him  of  practicing  brigandage  for  his 
own  benefit,6  and  of  making  use  of  the  assassin's  dagger  to 
gratify  his  hatred.7  Such  were  the  men  upon  whom  the  highest 
functions  had  devolved,  since  Claudius  had  given  up  everything 
to  freedmen.  There  were  no  more  Roman  knights,  or  grave 
functionaries,  like  Pilate  or  Caponius.  They  were  covetous 
valets,  haughty  and  dissolute,  profiting  by  the  political  abjection 
of  this  ptfbr  old  Oriental  world,  to  gorge  themselves  at  their 
ease,  and  wallow  in  the  mire.8  Something  so  horrible  and  so 
shameful  had  not  as  yet  been  seen. 

The  chief  of  the  squadron  who  had  brought  Paul,  upon  his 
arrival  gave  up  the  elogium  and  the  prisoner  to  Felix.  Paul 
appeared  for  a  moment  before  the  procurator,  who  inquired 
of  what  country  he  was.  The  elogium  assigned  a  privileged 
position  to  the  accused.9  Felix  said  that  he  would  hear  the 
cause  upon  the  arrival  of  the  accusers.  In  the  mean  time,  he 


SAINT  PAUL.  313 

ordered  Paul  to  be  kept,  not  in  prison,  but  in  the  old  palace  of 
Herod  the  Great,  which  had  now  beeome  the  residence  of  the 
procurators.  At  this  juncture  Paul  was  doubtless  intrusted  to 
a  soldier  (frumentarius),  who  was  charged,  upon  his  life,  to  keep 
him,  and  produce  him  upon  every  requisition.10 

At  the  end  of  three  days  n  the  Jewish  accusers  arrived.  The 
high  priest  Ananias  had  come  in  person,  accompanied  by 
several  elders.  Knowing  how  to  speak  Greek  and  Latin,  and 
full  of  confidence  in  the  official  rhetoric  of  the  period,  they  had 
associated  with  themselves  a  certain  Tertullus,  a  lawyer.  The 
audience  took  place  immediately.  Tertullus,  according  to  the 
rules  of  his  profession,  began  with  the  captatio  benevolentia. 
He  eulogized  the  government  of  Felix  with  assurance;  spoke 
of  the  happiness  enjoyed  under  his  administration,  of  the  public 
gratitude,  and  entreated  him  to  listen  with  his  usual  kindness. 
Then  he  entered  upon  his  subject,  qualified  Paul  as  a  pest,  a 
disturber  of  Judaism,  a  chief  of  the  heresy  of  the  Nazarenes,  an 
intermeddler,  solely  occupied  in  exciting  seditions  among  his 
co-religionists  throughout  the  entire  world.  He  dwelt  upon  the 
pretended  violation  of  the  temple,  which  constituted  a  capital 
crime,  and  sustained  that,  by  seeking  to  get  possession  of  Paul, 
they  had  only  wished  to  judge  him  conformably  to  the  law. 

Upon  a  sign  from  Felix,  Paul  then  began  to  speak.  He  sus- 
tained that  his  conduct -in  the  temple  had  been  that  of  a  most 
peaceable  Jew ;  that  he  had  neither  disputed  there  nor  caused 
any  riot ;  that  he  had  never  preached  in  Jerusalem  ;  that  he  was 
in  truth  a  heretic,  if  being  a  heretic  was  to  believe  in  everything 
written  in  the  law  and  the  prophets,  and  to  hope  for  the  resur- 
rection of  the  dead;  that,  at  the  bottom,  the  only  crime  of 
which  he  was  accused  was  believing  in  the  resurrection.  "  But," 
added  he,  "the  Jews  themselves  believe  in  it." 

In  regard  to  the  Jews,  this  was  a  skillful  apology — even  more 

skillful  than  sincere  —  since,  dissimulating  the  true  difficulty,  it 

sought  to  give  to  understand  that  they  could  agree  when  they 

did  not  agree,  and  avoided  the  question  in  a  manner  since  then 

27 


314  SAINT  PAUL. 

often  imitated  by-  Christian  apologists.  At  any  rate,  Felix,  who 
took  little  interest  in  the  dogma  of  the  resurrection,  must  have 
remained  indifferent.  He  closed  the  sitting  abruptly,  declaring 
that  he  would  not  pronounce  his  decision  until  after  a  fuller 
investigation,  and  an  interview  with  Claudius  Lysias.  In  the 
mean  time,  he  ordered  the  centurion  to  treat  Paul  kindly,  that 
is  to  say,  to  leave  him  unbound  in  the  state  of  custodia  libera™ 
and  to  allow  his  disciples,  as  well  as  his  friends,  to  have  access, 
and  to  minister  unto  him. 

A  few  days  after,  Felix  and  Paul  saw  each  other  again. 
Drusilla,  who  was  a  Jewess,  desired,  it  is  said,  to  hear  the 
apostle  set  forth  the  Christian  faith.  Paul  spoke  of  righteous- 
ness, continence,  and  of  the  judgment  to  come.  All  this  but 
ill  suited  this  new  kind  of  catechumen.  Even  Felix,  as  it 
appears,  was  frightened.  "  Go  thy  way,  for  this  time,"  said  he 
to  Paul ;  "  when  I  have  a  convenient  season  I  will  call  for 
thee."  Having  learned  that  Paul  had  brought  considerable 
sums  with  him,  he  hoped  to  receive,  from  him  or  his  friends,  a 
large  amount  for  his  deliverance.  It  appears  that  he  saw  him 
several  times,  and  strove  to  suggest  this  idea  to  him.  But  the 
apostle  not  lending  himself  to  the  purpose,  Felix  desired  at  least 
to  obtain  through  this  affair  some  gain  for  his  much-weakened 
popularity.  The  greatest  pleasure  that  they  could  have  afforded 
the  Jews  was  to  persecute  those  whom  they  regarded  as  their 
enemies.  He  therefore  kept  Paul  in  prison,  and  even  had  him 
chained  again.13  Thus  Paul  passed  two  years. 

Imprisonment,  even  with  the  addition  of  the  chains  and  the 
guard,  was  far  from  being  then  what  it  is  now,  a  total  loss  of 
liberty.  Especially,  when  one  had  pecuniary  resources,  was  it 
easily  possible  to  make  arrangement  with  the  guard,  and  thus 
devote  one's  self  to  business.  At  any  rate,  one  could  see  his 
friends,  one  was  not  secreted,  nor  any  check  put  upon  his 
activity.14  It  is  not  at  all  doubtful,  therefore,  that  Paul,  although 
a  prisoner,  continued  his  apostolate  at  Cesarea.  Never  did  he 
have  so  many  of  his  disciples  with  him.  Timothy,  Luke,  Aris 


SAINT  PAUL.  315 

tarchus  of  Thessalonica,  Tychicus,  and  Trophimus,  bore  his 
orders  in  all  directions,  and  were  of  service  in  the  corre- 
spondence which  he  kept  up  with  his  churches.  In  particular, 
he  commissioned  Tychicus  and  Trophimus  with  a  mission  for 
Ephesus.15  Trophimus,  it  appears,  fell  sick  at  Miletus.16 

In  consequence  of  the  sojourn  they  then  made  in  Palestine, 
the  most  intelligent  members  of  the  churches  of  Macedonia  and 
Asia  found  themselves  in  prolonged  connection  with  the  churches 
of  Judea.  Luke,  in  particular,  who,  until  then,  had  not  left  his 
in  Macedonia,  was  initiated  into  the  traditions  of  Jerusalem. 
Doubtless  he  was  vividly  impressed  with  the  Hierosolymitic 
majesty,  and  imagined  the  possibility  of  a  reconciliation  between 
the  principles  sustained  on  the  one  hand  by  Paul,  and  on  the 
other  by  the  elders  of  Jerusalem.  He  thought  that  it  was  best 
to  forget  reciprocal  wrongs,  to  prudently  throw  a  veil  over  these 
wrongs,  and  to  say  nothing  more  about  them.  The  fundamental 
ideas  which  were  to  preside  over  the  preparation  of  his  great 
writings  were,  probably,  even  then  fixed  in  his  mind.  By  these 
divers  contacts  a  uniform  tradition  was  establishing  itself.  The 
Gospels  were  being  elaborated  by  an  intimate  communication 
between  all  the  parties  constituting  the  church.  Jesus  had 
created  the  church.  The  church,  in  turn,  was  creating  him. 
That  grand  ideal,  destined  for  centuries  to  sway  humanity,  was 
issuing  in  reality  from  humanity's  very  vitals,  and  from  a  sort  of 
secret  concert  among  all  those  to  whom  Jesus  had  bequeathed 
his  spirit. 

Felix  finally  succumbed,  not  under  the  indignation  which  his 
crimes  should  have  produced,  but  under  the  difficulties  of  a 
situation,  against  which  no  procurator  had  been  able  to  contend. 
The  life  of  a  Roman  governor  at  Cesarea  had  become  insup- 
portable. Jews  and  Syrians,  or  Greeks,  were  unceasingly  strug- 
gling with  each  other.  The  most  upright  man  would  not  have 
known  how  to  hold  the  balance  between  such  fierce  hatreds. 
The  Jews,  according  to  their  custom,  made  complaint  in  Rome. 
They  had  quite  strong  influences  at  their  command  there; 


3*6  SAINT  PAUL. 

especially  through  Poppoea,17  and  the  intrigues  directed  there  by 
Herod  Agrippa  II.  Pallas  had  lost  a  great  deal  of  his  credit, 
especially  since  the  year  55.18  He  could  not  prevent  the  dis- 
grace of  his  brother.  He  only  succeeded  in  saving  him  from 
death.  They  sent  a  successor  to  Felix,  an  inflexible  and  just 
man,19  Porcius  Festus,  who  arrived  at  Cesarea  in  the  month  of 
August,  in  the  year  6o.20 

Three  days  after  his  arrival  he  went  to  Jerusalem.  The  high 
priest  Ishmael,  the  son  of  Phabi,  and  the  entire  Sadducean  party, 
that  is  to  say,  the  high  priesthood,21  surrounded  him,  and  one  of 
the  first  demands  addressed  him  was  in  relation  to  Paul.  They 
wished  to  have  him  brought  back  to  Jerusalem.  They  would 
have  arranged  an  ambuscade  to  kill  him  on  the  road.  Festus 
replied,  that  he  was  soon  going  to  set  out  for  Cesarea,  and  it 
was  consequently  preferable  that  Paul  should  remain  there. 
But,  as  the  Romans  never  pronounced  judgment  without  con- 
fronting the  accused  and  his  accusers,  it  would  be  necessary 
that  those  of  the  chiefs  who  wished  to  accuse  Paul  should  go 
with  him.  At  the  end  of  eight  or  ten  days  he  returned  to 
Cesarea,  and  the  day  after,  summoned  Paul  and  his  adversaries 
before  his  judgment-seat.  After  a  stormy  debate,  Paul  sustain- 
ing that  he  had  done  nothing  either  against  the  laws,  or  against 
the  temple,  or  against  the  emperor,  Festus  proposed  to  him  to 
have  him  conducted  back  to  Jerusalem,  where  he  might,  under 
his  control  and  high  jurisdiction,  defend  himself  before  a  Jewish 
court.  Festus  was  doubtless  ignorant  of  the  project  of  the  con- 
spirators. He  thought,  by  this  dismissal,  to  rid  himself  of  a 
troublesome  case,  and  to  do  an  agreeable  thing  to  the  Jews, 
who  demanded  the  transfer  of  the  prisoner  with  so  much 
urgency. 

But  Paul  took  good  care  not  to  accept.  He  was  possessed 
with  a  desire  to  see  Rome.  The  capital  of  the  world  had  for 
him  a  sort  of  powerful  and  mysterious  charm.22  He  maintained 
his  right  to  be  judged  before  a  Roman  tribunal,  protesting  that 
no  one  had  the  power  to  deliver  him  up  to  the  Jews,  and  pro- 


SAINT  PAUL.  317 

nounced  the  solemn  sentence,  "  I  appeal  unto  Caesar."  These 
words,  uttered  by  a  Roman  citizen,  had  strength  to  overcome 
all  provincial  jurisdictions.  The  citizen,  in  whatever  part  of  the 
world  he  might  be,  had  the  right  of  having  himself  conducted  to 
Rome  for  trial.  The  governors  of  provinces,  moreover,  fre- 
quently sent  cases  of  religious  right  to  the  emperor  and  his 
council.23  Festus,  surprised  at  first  by  this  appeal,  consulted 
with  his  assistants  for  a  moment,  then  replied  by  the  formula, 
"  Thou  hast  appealed  unto  Caesar,  unto  Caesar  shalt  thou  go." 

The  sending  of  Paul  to  Rome  was  from  that  moment  decided 
upon,  and  they  only  awaited  an  opportunity  to  have  him  set 
out.  A  singular  incident  occurred  in  the  mean  time.  A  few 
days  after  the  return  of  Festus  to  Cesarea,  Herod  Agrippa  II. 
and  his  sister  Berenice,  who  lived  with  him,  not  without  the 
existence  of  infamous  suppositions,84  arrived  to  salute  the  new 
procurator.  They  remained  several  days  at  Cesarea.  In  the 
course  of  the  conversation  which  they  had  with  the  Roman 
functionary,  the  latter  spoke  to  them  about  the  prisoner  left  by 
Felix.  "His  accusers," said  he,  "have  charged  him  with  no  such 
crimes  as  I  expected  to  see  proven.  There  is  only  question,  in 
this  entire  affair,  of  subtleties  relative  to  their  superstitions,  and 
to  a  certain  Jesus,  who  is  dead,  and  whom  Paul  affirms  to  be 
living."  "  Quite  right,"  said  Agrippa.  "  I  have  desired  to  hear 
this  man  for  a  long  while."  "^Thou  shalt  hear  him  to-morrow," 
replied  Festus. 

On  the  morrow,  in  truth,  Agrippa  and  Berenice  went  to  the 
tribunal  with  a  brilliant  suite.  All  the  officers  of  the  army  and 
the  principal  men  in  the  city  were  present.  No  official  proce- 
dure could  take  place  after  an  appeal  to  the  emperor.  But 
Festus  declared,  according  to  his  views,  the  sending  of  a 
prisoner  to  Rome  should  be  accompanied  with  a  report.  He 
feigned  to  be  desirous  of  gaining  information  for  the  report  which 
he  had  to  make  in  this  matter ;  alleged  his  ignorance  of  Jewish 
affairs,  and  declared  himself  willing  to  follow  the  advice  of  King 
Agrippa  in  this  case.  Agrippa  invited  Paul  to  speak.  Paul 
27* 


318  SAINT  PAUL. 

then  delivered,  with  a  certain  oratorical  complaisance,  one  of 
those  discourses  which  he  had  repeated  a  hundred  times.  He 
deemed  himself  happy  to  have  to  plead  his  cause  before  a  judge 
so  learned  in  Jewish  questions  as  was_  Agrippa.  He  entrenched 
himself  more  than  ever  within  his  ordinary  system  of  defence ; 
pretended  to  say  nothing  which  was  not  in  the  law  and  the 
prophets ;  sustained  that  they  were  prosecuting  him  solely  on 
account  of  faith  in  the  resurrection,  —  a  faith  which  is  that  of 
all  the  Israelites ;  which  gives  a  motive  to  their  piety,  a  founda- 
tion to  their  hopes.  He  explained  by  quotations  from  the  Scrip- 
ture his  favorite  theses,  namely,  that  Christ  was  to  suffer  and  to 
be  the  first  to  rise  from  the  dead.25  Festus,  unacquainted  with 
all  these  speculations,  took  Paul  for  a  visionary,  a  learned  man 
of  his  kind,  but  misguided  and  fanatical.  "Thou  art  beside 
thyself,  Paul."  said  he  to  him.  "  Thy  learning  hath  made  thee 
mad."  Paul  invoked  the  testimony  of  Agrippa,  as  better  versed 
in  Jewish  theology,  knowing  the  prophets,  and,  as  he  supposed, 
acquainted  with  the  facts  relating  to  Jesus.  Agrippa  replied  in 
an  evasive  manner.  Apparently  a  bit  of  pleasantry  was  mingled 
with  the  conversation.  "  Thou  almost  persuadest  me  to  be  a 
Christian,"  said  Agrippa.  Paul,  with  his  ordinary  readiness, 
adapted  himself  to  the  calibre  of  his  hearers,  and  concluded  by 
wishing  that  all  might  resemble  himself,  "  except  these  bonds," 
added  he,  with  a  slight  irony.  The  effect  of  this  courteous  assem- 
bly, so  different  from  audiences  in  which  the  Jews  figure  as 
accusers,  was,  in  the  main,  favorable  to  Paul.  Festus,  with  his 
Roman  good  sense,  declared  that  this  man  had  done  nothing  evil. 
Agrippa  was  of  the  opinion  that  he  might  have  been  set  at  liberty, 
had  he  not  appealed  to  the  emperor.  Paul,  who  wished  to  go 
to  Rome,  conducted  by  the  Romans  themselves,  did  not  with- 
draw his  appeal.  They  therefore  placed  him,  together  with 
several  other  prisoners,  under  the  guard  of  a  centurion  of  the 
cohort  prima  Augusta  Italica™  named  Julius,  who  must  have 
been  an  Italian.  Timothy,  Luke,  and  Aristarchus  of  Thessa- 
lonica,  were  the  only  ones  of  his  disciples  who  took  passage 
with  him." 


SAINT  PAUL.  319 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

VOYAGE  OF  THE  CAPTIVE  PAUL. 

THEY  embarked  upon  a  ship  of  Adramytium  of  Mysia,  which 
was  on  its  return  voyage.  In  one  of  the  intermediate  ports, 
Julius  expected  to  meet  with  a  vessel  setting  out  for  Italy,  and 
take  passage  in  it.  It  was  about  the  time  of  the  autumn 
equinox.1  They  had  a  rough  sail  in  prospective.*  Upon  the 
second  day  they  reached  Sidon.  Julius,  who  treated  Paul  with 
a  great  deal  of  kindness,  allowed  him  to  enter  the  city,  to  visit 
his  friends,  and  receive  their  attentions.  Their  course  would 
have  been  to  take  the  main  and  reach  the  southwest  point  of 
Asia  Minor,  but  the  winds  were  adverse.  They  were  obliged  to 
sail  northward,  coasting  Phenicia,  hugging  the  shores  of  Cyprus, 
and  leaving  it  on  the  larboard.  They  followed  the  channel 
between  Cyprus  and  Cilicia,  crossed  the  Gulf  of  Pamphylia,  and 
reached  the  port  of  Myra,3  in  Lycia.  There  they  abandoned 
the  Adramytium  ship.  Julius  having  found  an  Alexandrine 
vessel  which  was  setting  sail  for  Italy,  made  a  bargain  with  the 
captain,  and  transferred  his  prisoners  on  board.  The  vessel  was 
heavy  laden,  having  two  hundred  and  seventy-six  persons.4 

The  voyage  now  becomes  a  most  arduous  one.  After  several 
days  they  were  not  yet  off  Cnidus.  The  captain  wished  to  enter 
the  port,  but  the  wind  coming  from  the  northeast  did  not  allow 
it,  and  they  were  obliged  to  be  borne  towards  the  isle  of  Crete. 
They  soon  sighted  the  Cape  of  Salome,6  which  is  the  eastern 
point  of  the  island.  The  island  of  Crete  forms,  as  it  were,  an 
immense  barrier,  which  transforms  that  portion  of  the  Medi- 
terranean which  it  covers  on  the  south,  into  a  sort  of  large 
port,  sheltered  from  tempests  coming  from  the  Archipelago. 
The  captain  was  very  naturally  led  to  profit  by  this  advantage. 
He  therefore  followed  the  eastern  coast  of  the  isle,  not  without 
great  perils ;  then  putting  the  island  to  the  windward  of  him,  he 


320  SAINT  PAUL. 

entered  into  the  calm  waters  of  the  south.  They  found  there  a 
small  harbor,  quite  deep,  shut  in  by  a  little  island,  and  bordered 
by  sandy  beaches,  between  which  a  rocky  point  advances,  so 
that  it  seems  divided  into  two  parts.6  It  is  what  they  called  Kali 
Limenes  (The  Good  Havens).  Near  there  was  a  city  named 
Lasea  or  Alassa.7  They  took  refuge  in  this  harbor.  The  crew 
and  the  vessel  had  suffered  greatly,  and  they  made  quite  a  long 
stay  in  this  little  port. 

When  it  was  proposed  to  set  sail,  the  season  was  much  ad- 
vanced. The  great  fast  of  the  atonement  (Kippour]  in  the 
month  Tishri  (October)  was  passed.  The  Jews  considered  this 
fast  the  limit  of  the  term  beyond  which  voyages  were  not  safe.8 
Paul,  who  had  acquired  some  authority  over  the  vessel,  and  who, 
moreover,  had  long  been  accustomed  to  the  sea,  gave  his  advice. 
He  predicted  great  dangers  if  they  should  re-embark.  "But  the 
centurion  (we  can  not  be  so  much  surprised  at  this  as  the  narra- 
tor of  the  Acts)  had  more  confidence  in  the  words  of  the  captain 
and  the  supercargo,  than  in  those  spoken  by  Paul."  The  port 
of  Kali  Limenes  was  not  favorable  to  winter  in.  The  general 
advice  was  that  they  should  endeavor  to  reach,  in  order  to  pass 
the  bad  months,  the  port  of  Phenice  situated  on  the  southern 
coast  of  the  island,9  where  those  who  were  acquainted  with 
these  regions  promised  that  good  anchorage  would  be  found. 
One  day  while  a  southern  breeze  was  blowing,  they  deemed  it  a 
favorable  moment.  They  raised  anchor;  they  tacked  along  the 
coast  of  the  island  as  far  as  Cape  Littinos ;  then  they  ran  before 
the  wind  towards  Phenice. 

The  crew  and  the  passengers  believed  themselves  at  the  end 
of  their  troubles,  when,  all  at  once,  one  of  those  sudden  hurri- 
canes from  the  east,  which  the  sailors  of  the  Mediterranean  call 
the  Euroclydon,10  burst  upon  the  island.  The  vessel  was  soon 
rendered  unfit  to  bear  up  against  the  storm.  They  let  her  scud 
before  the  wind.  They  passed  near  a  little  island  named 
Clauda.11  They  placed  themselves  for  a  moment  under  the 
shelter  of  this  island,  and  profited  by  the  short  respite  thus  ob- 


SAINT  PAUL.  321 

tained,  to  draw  up,  with  great  difficulty,  the  ship's  boat,  which 
every  moment  was  threatening  to  go  to  pieces.  Then  they  took 
precautions,  in  view  of  a  shipwreck,  which  all  considered 
inevitable.  They  bound  the  hull  of  the  vessel  with  cables.11 
They  furled  the  sails,  and  abandoned  themselves  to  the  wind. 
The  second  day  the  tempest  was  still  as  strong.  They  wished  to 
lighten  the  ship.  They  threw  overboard  the  entire  cargo.  The 
third  day  they  cast  out  the  furniture  and  utensils  which  were  not 
necessary  for  working  the  ship.  The  following  days  were 
frightful.  The  sun  was  not  visible  for  a  moment;  not  a  single 
star  was  to  be  seen ;  they  knew  not  whither  they  were  drifting. 
Elsewhere  filled  with  islands,  the  Mediterranean  between  Sicily 
and  Malta  on  the  west,  the  Peloponnesus  and  Crete  on  the  east, 
southern  Italy  and  Epirus  on  the  north,  and  the  coast  of  Africa 
on  the  south,  presents  a  large  square  of  open  sea,  in  which  the 
winds  unchain  themselves  without  obstacle,  and  roll  up  enormous 
masses  of  water.  This  is  what  the  ancients  frequently  called  the 
Adriatic13  The  general  opinion  of  the  people  on  board  was, 
that  the  vessel  was  running  into  the  Syrtes  of  Africa,  in  which 
the  loss  of  life  and  goods  was  certain.  All  hope  fled.  No  one 
thought  of  taking  food ;  it  would  have  been,  moreover,  impossible 
to  prepare  it.  Paul  alone  remained  calm.  He  was  convinced 
that  he  would  see  Rome,  and  that  he  would  appear  before  the 
tribunal  of  the  emperor.  He  encouraged  the  crew  and  the  pas- 
sengers. He  even  said,  it  appears,  that  it  had  been  revealed  to 
him,  in  a  vision,  that  no  one  would  perish  ;  God  having  accorded 
him  the  lives  of  all,  in  spite  of  the  wrongs  they  had  done  in  leaving 
the  Good  Havens  contrary  to  his  advice. 

The  fourteenth  night,  however,  after  leaving  this  port,  towards 
midnight,  the  sailors  imagined  that  they  saw  land.  They  cast 
the  lead,  and  find  twenty  fathoms ;  shortly  after,  they  find  fifteen 
fathoms.  They  feared  that  they  were  going  to  strike  upon  reefs. 
Immediately  they  cast  four  anchors  from  the  stern  ;14  they  make 
fast  the  rudders,  that  is  to  say,  the  two  large  paddles  which  pro- 
ject from  either  side  of  the  hind-castle.15  The  vessel  stops ;  they 


322  SAINT  PAUL. 

await  daylight  with  anxiety.  Then  the  sailors,  profiting  by  their 
skill  as  seamen,  wished  to  save  themselves  at  the  expense  of  the 
passengers.  Under  pretext  of  casting  the  forward  anchors  they 
set  the  boat  afloat,  and  undertook  to  enter  it.  But  the  centurion 
and  the  soldiers,  being  warned,  it  is  said,  by  Paul,18  of  this  treache- 
rous conduct,  made  opposition.  The  soldiers  cut  the  ropes 
which  held  the  boat,  and  cast  her  off.  Paul,  nevertheless,  spoke 
kindly  to  all,  and  assured  them  that  no  one  would  be  harmed. 
During  these  crises  of  seafaring  life,  existence,  as  it  were,  ceases. 
When  they  are  past,  one  discovers  that  he  is  dirty  and  hungry. 
For  fourteen  days  scarcely  any  one  had  taken  food,  either  from 
excitement  or  sea-sickness.  Paul,  while  awaiting  daylight, 
counselled  all  to  eat,  in  order  to  acquire  strength  for  the  manoeu- 
vring which  remained  to  be  done.  He  set  the  example 
himself;  and,  like  a  pious  Jew,  broke  bread  according  to  custom, 
after  he  returned  thanks,  in  presence  of  them  all.  The  pas- 
sengers followed  his  example,  and  were  of  better  cheer.  They 
lightened  the  vessel  still  more,  by  throwing  overboard  all  the 
wheat  that  remained. 

Finally  day  broke,  and  land  was  visible.  It  was  uninhabited ; 
no  one  recognized  the  country  they  had  reached.  There  was  a 
bay  before  them,  having  a  sandy  beach.  They  determined  to 
run  upon  the  shore ;  the  wind  blew  in  that  direction.  They  cut 
the  cables  from  the  anchors,  which  they  left  in  the  sea,  they 
loosened  the  rudder-bands,  they  hoisted  the  mainsail,17  adjusted 
it  to  the  wind,  and  steered  towards  the  beach.  The  ship  struck 
upon  a  strip  of  land  washed  on  both  sides  by  the  sea,  and  re- 
mained there.  The  prow  sank  into  the  sand,  and  was  immovable. 
The  stern,  on  the  contrary,  beaten  by  the  waves,  was  weakened 
and  disjointed  by  every  blow.  Salvages,  under  these  conditions, 
are  very  easy  on  the  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean,  because  the 
tide  is  inconsiderable.  A  wrecked  vessel  answers  for  a  shelter, 
and  it  is  easy  to  establish  means  of  communication.  But  the 
fact  that  many  of  the  passengers  were  prisoners  aggravated  the 
situation.  They  might  swim  away  and  escape  from  their  guar- 


SAINT  PAUL.  323 

dians.  The  soldiers  proposed  to  kill  them.  The  upright  Julius 
rejected  this  barbarous  idea.  He  ordered  those  who  knew  how  to 
swim,  to  throw  themselves  the  first  into  the  water  and  reach  the 
land,  in  order  to  assist  in  saving  the  others.  Those  who  did  not 
know  how  to  swim,  escaped  on  boards  and  pieces  of  the  wreck. 
No  one  was  lost. 

They  soon  learned  that  they  were  on  the  island  of  Malta.18 
The  island,  long  since  under  Roman  rule,  and  already  strongly 
Latinized,  was  rich  and  prosperous.19  The  inhabitants  shewed 
themselves  kind,  and  kindled  a  large  fire  for  the  unfortunate 
castaways.  The  latter,  in  truth,  were  benumbed  with  cold,  and 
the  rain  continued  to  fall  in  torrents.  A  very  simple  incident, 
exaggerated  in  the  imaginations  of  Paul's  disciples,  then  oc- 
curred.20 In  taking  up  a  handful  of  brush-wood,  in  order  to 
throw  it  into  the  fire,  Paul  at  the  same  time  picked  up  a  viper. 
It  was  thought  to  have  bitten  him  in  the  hand.  The  idea  spread 
that  this  man  was  a  murderer  followed  by  Nemesis,  who,  not 
being  able  to  reach  him  by  means  of  the  tempest,  was  pursuing 
him  on  land.  The  people  of  the  country,  it  appears,  expected 
every  instant  to  see  him  swell  and  fall  dead.  As  nothing  of  the 
kind  took  place,  they  looked  upon  him  as  a  God. 

Near  the  bay  in  which  the  vessel  was  wrecked,  were  the  lands 
of  a  certain  Publius,  princeps  of  the  municipium  formed  by  the 
island,  together  with  Gaulos.51  This  man  went  to  those  wrecked, 
and  received  them  into  his  manor,  at  least  a  part  of  them,  of 
whom  were  Paul  and  his  companions,  and  for  three  days  enter- 
tained them  with  a  great  deal  of  hospitality.  Here  again 
happened  one  of  those  miracles  which  the  disciples  of  Paul 
imagined  they  saw  open  every  instant  under  his  feet.  The 
apostle  cured,  it  is  said,  by  laying  on  of  hands,  the  father  of 
Publius,  who  was  suffering  from  a  fever  and  dysentery.  His 
.reputation  as  thaumaturgist  spread  through  the  island,  and 
they  brought  him  the  sick  from  all  sides.  It  is  not  said,  however, 
that  he  established  a  church  here.  These  low  African  popula- 


324  SAINT  PAUL. 

tions"  could  not  raise  themselves  above  superstition  and  gross 
sensualism. 

The  ancient  coasting-vessels  of  the  Mediterranean  were 
accustomed  to  lay  up  during  the  winter.  The  frightful  voyage 
which  they  had  just  made  did  not  encourage  them  to  set  out 
again.  They  remained  three  months  at  Malta,  from  the  i5th  of 
November,  60,  to  the  i5th  of  February,  61,  very  nearly.  Then 
Julius  negotiated  for  the  passage  of  his  prisoners  and  soldiers 
upon  another  Alexandrine  vessel,  the  Castor  et  Pollux,  which 
had  wintered  in  the  haven  of  the  island.  They  reached  Syracuse, 
where  they  remained  three  days;  then  they  sailed  towards  the 
strait,  and  touched  at  Rhegium.  The  next  day  a  good  south 
wind  arose,  and  carried  the  vessel  in  two  days  to  Puteoli. 

Puteoli,  as  we  have  already  said,  was  that  port  of.  Italy  most 
frequented  by  the  Jews.  It  was  there,  in  general,  that  the  ships 
from  Alexandria  discharged  their  cargoes.23  There  had  been 
formed  here,  at  the  same  time  as  at  Rome,  a  petty  Christian 
society.  The  apostle  was  well  received  here.  They  entreated 
him  to  remain  seven  days ;  and  thanks  to  the  kindness  of  the 
good  Julius,  who  had  become  strongly  attached  to  him,  this  was 
possible.  They  then  set  out  for  Rome.  The  report  of  Paul's 
arrival  had  spread  among  the  faithful  of  that  city,  to  some  of 
whom,  he  was  already,  since  the  sending  of  his  epistle,  a  known 
and  respected  master.  At  the  relay-house,  called  the  Forum  of 
Appius,24  forty-three  miles  from  Rome,  on  the  Appian  road,  the 
first  deputation  reached  him.  Ten  miles  further  on,  at  the  end 
of  the  Pontine  Marshes,  near  a  place  called  the  "The  Three 
Taverns,"  on  account  of  the  inns  established  there,25  a  new  group 
joined  him.  The  joy  of  the  apostle  burst  out  in  earnest  expres- 
sions of  thanks.  The  holy  band  made,  not  without  emotion,  the 
eleven  or  twelve  leagues  which  separated  the  Three  Taverns 
from  the  Campagna  gate,  and  still  following  the  Appian  road,  by 
way  of  Aricia  and  Albano,  the  captive  Paul  entered  Rome  in  the 
month  of  March,  in  the  year  61,  in  the  seventh  year  of  the 
reign  of  Nero,  under  the  consulate  of  Caesennius  Pastus  and 
Petronius  Turpilian.26 


SAINT  PAUL.  325 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

GLANCE    AT  THE   WORK   OF   PAUL. 

PAUL  has  still  more  than  three  years  to  live,  and  those  three 
years  will  not  be  the  least  active  of  his  laborious  existence. 
We  shall  even  show  that  the  series  of  his  apostolic  tours  had, 
according  to  all  probabilities,  a  prolongation.  But  these  new 
journeys  were  made  in  the  Occident,  and  not  in  countries  which 
he  had  already  visited.1  These  journeys,  if  they  took  place,  were 
moreover  without  appreciable  results,  as  regards  the  propagation 
of  Christianity.  We  are,  therefore,  permitted  at  this  moment 
to  take  the  dimensions  of  Paul's  work.  Thanks  to  him,  one-half 
of  Asia  Minor  received  the  seed  of  Christianity.  In  Europe, 
Macedonia  was  quite  deeply  penetrated,  and  Greece  entered 
along  her  borders.  If  we  add  to  this  Italy,  from  Puteoli  to 
Rome,  already  furrowed  by  the  Christians,  we  shall  have  a 
picture  of  the  actual  conquests  of  Christianity  during  the  sixteen 
years  comprehended  in  this  book.  Syria,  as  we  have  seen,  had, 
at  a  prior  period,  received  the  word  of  Jesus,  and  possessed 
organized  churches.  The  progress  of  the  new  faith  had  been 
truly  wonderful,  and  although  the  public  still  occupied  itself  very 
little  with  it,  the  followers  of  Jesus  already  possessed  importance 
for  those  outside.  We  shall  see  them,  towards  the  year  64, 
occupying  the  attention  of  the  world,  and  acting  a  very  impor- 
tant historical  role. 

In  this  entire  history,  moreover,  it  is  important  that  we  should 
protect  ourselves  from  one  illusion  almost  forcibly  produced  by 
the  reading  of  the  epistles  of  Paul,  and  the  Acts  of  the  apostles. 
After  such  a  perusal,  one's  imagination  is  tempted  to  picture  to 
itself  conversions  in  mass,  churches  with  numerous  members, 
and  whole  countries  flying  to  the  new  religion.  Paul,  who  often 
speaks  to  us  of  rebellious  Jews,  never  mentions  the  enormous 
28 


326  SAINT  PAUL. 

majority  of  Heathens  who  had  no  knowledge  of  the  faith.  In 
reading  the  travels  of  Benjamin  of  Tudela,  one  would  imagine 
that  the  world  of  his  day  was  only  peopled  with  Jews.  Sects 
are  subject  to  these  optical  illusions;  for  them,  nothing  exists 
outside  of  their  circle.  The  events  which  take  place  in  their 
midst  appear  to  them  to  be  of  interest  to  the  universe.  Per- 
sons who  have  connections  with  the  old  St.  Simonians  are  struck 
with  the  readiness  with  which  they  regard  themselves  as  the 
centre  of  humanity.  In  like  manner,  the  primitive  Christians 
lived  so  exclusively  in  their  own  circle  that  they  knew  scarcely 
nothing  about  the  outside  world.  A  country  was  reputed  evan- 
gelized when  the  name  of  Jesus  was  pronounced  there,8  and  half 
a  score  of  persons  had  been  converted.  A  church  frequently 
contained  no  more  than  twelve  or  fifteen  members.  Probably 
all  the  converts  of  St.  Paul  in  Asia  Minor,  Macedonia,  and 
Greece,  did  not  much  exceed  one  thousand.3  This  little  num- 
ber, this  spirit  of  secret  committee,  of  restricted  spiritual  family, 
was  precisely  what  constituted  the  indestructible  strength  of 
these  churches,  and  made  of  them  so  many  fruitful  germs  for 
the  future. 

One  man  has  contributed  more  than  any  other  to  this  rapid 
extension  of  Christianity.  This  man  has  torn  off  that  sort  of 
tight  and  fearfully  dangerous  swaddling-clothes  in  which  the  child 
was  wrapped  from  its  birth.  He  has  proclaimed  that  Chris- 
tianity was  not  a  simple  reformed  Judaism,  but  that  it  was 
a  complete  religion,  existing  by  itself.  To  say  that  this  man 
deserves  to  occupy  a  very  high  rank  in  history,  is  to  say  a  very- 
evident  thing ;  but  he  must  not  be  called  a  founder.  It  is  vain 
for  Paul  to  talk ;  He  is  inferior  to  the  other  apostles.  He  has 
not  seen  Jesus ;  He  has  not  heard  his  word.  The  divine  logia 
and  the  parables  are  scarcely  known  to  him.  The  Christ  who 
gives  him  personal  revelations,  is  his  own  phantom, — it  is  him- 
self he  hears,  while  thinking  he  hears  Jesus. 

Even  as  regards  the  question  of  outward  rdfe,  Paul  was  far 
from  having  the  importance,  during  his  life,  that  we  attribute 


SAINT  PAUL.  327 

to  him.  His  churches  were  either  slightly  substantial,  or  denied 
him.  The  churches  of  Macedonia  and  Galatia,  which  are  his 
own  work,  possessed  little  importance  in  the  second  and  third 
centuries.  The  churches  of  Corinth  and  Ephesus,  which  did  not 
belong  to  him  with  so  exclusive  a  title,  pass  over  to  his  enemies, 
or  are  not  deemed  canonically  enough  established,  when  only 
owing  their  existence  to  him.4  After  his  disappearance  from  the 
scene  of  apostolic  struggles  we  shall  find  him  soon  forgotten. 
His  death  was  probably  regarded  by  his  enemies  as  the  death  of 
an  agitator.  The  second  century  scarcely  speaks  of  him,  and 
apparently  endeavors  to  systematically  blot  out  his  memory. 
His  epistles  are  then  slightly  read,  and  only  regarded  as  au- 
thority by  rather  a  slim  group.6  His  partisans  themselves 
greatly  weaken  his  pretensions.6  He  leaves  no  celebrated  dis- 
ciples. Titus,  Timothy,  and  so  many  others,  who,  as  it  were, 
constituted  his  court,  disappear  without  renown.  The  truth  is, 
Paul  was  personally  too  energetic  to  form  an  original  school. 
He  always  crushed  his  disciples.  With  him  they  only  fill  the 
characters  of  secretaries,  servants,  and  couriers.  Their  respect 
for  their  master  was  such  that  they  never  dared  to  teach  freely. 
When  Paul  was  with  his  band,  he  alone  existed ;  all  the  others 
were  annihilated,  or  only  lived  through  him.7 

In  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  centuries,  Paul  will  increase 
wonderfully.  He  will  become  the  teacher  par  excellence,  —  the 
founder  of  Christian  theology.  The  true  president  of  those 
great  Greek  Councils,  which  make  Jesus  the  keystone  of  a  sys- 
tem of  metaphysics,  is  the  apostle  Paul.  But  in  the  middle 
ages,  especially  in  the  Occident,  his  fortune  will  undergo  a 
strange  eclipse.  Paul  will  say  scarcely  nothing  to  the  heart  of 
the  barbarians.  Outside  of  Rome,  he  will  possess  no  legend. 
Latin  Christendom  will  hardly  pronounce  his  name,  except 
after  that  of  his  rival.  St.  Paul,  in  the  middle  ages,  is,  in  some . 
degree,  lost  in  the  glory  of  St.  Peter.  While  St.  Peter  moves 
the  world,  and  makes  every  one  tremble  and  obey,—  the  obscure 
St.  Pou  plays  a  secondary  part  in  the  great  Christian  poem  which 

^  r     OF  THK        "^^^ 

rTJiri7BRSI.TYi! 


328  SAINT  PAUL. 

fills  the  cathedrals  and  inspires  the  popular  chants.  Scarcely  any 
one  before  the  sixteenth  century  is  called  by  his  name.  He 
hardly  appears  in  the  emblematical  monuments.  He  has  no 
devotees ;  they  build  him  but  few  churches  ;8  they  burn  no  tapers 
to  him.  His  surroundings  —  Titus,  Timothy,  Phebe,  and  Lydia, 
—  occupy  but  little  place  in  the  public  worship,  above  all  of  the 
Latins.9  No  legend  to  will  it.  In  order  to  possess  a  legend,  it 
is  necessary  to  have  spoken  to  the  people,  to  have  excited  the 
imagination.  Now,  what  does  salvation  through  faith,  justifica- 
tion through  the  blood  of  Christ,  say  to  the  people?  There 
was  too  little  sympathy  between  Paul  and  the  popular  con- 
science, and  probably  he  was  also  too  well  known  to  history,  in 
order  that  an  aureola  of  fables  should  have  formed  itself  around 
his  head.  Talk  to  me  of  Peter,  who  bends  the  heads  of  kings, 
shatters  empires,  walks  upon  the  asp  and  the  basilisk,  treads 
under  foot  the  lion  and  the  dragon,  and  holds  the  keys  of 
heaven ! 

The  Reformation  opens  for  St.  Paul  a  new  era  of  glory  and 
authority.  Catholicism  itself,  through  more  extended  studies 
than  those  of  the  middle  ages,  is  led  back  to  quite  just  views 
concerning  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  Dating  from  the  six- 
teenth century,  the  name  of  Paul  is  omnipresent.  But  the 
Reformation,  which  rendered  so  much  service  to  science  and 
reason,  was  not  able  to  create  a  legend.  Rome,  throwing  a 
pleasing  veil  over  the  rudeness  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians, 
elevates  Paul  upon  a  pedestal  almost  equal  to  that  of  Peter. 
Paul  does  not  therefore  become  to  any  great  extent  the  saint 
of  the  people.  What  place  shall  criticism  assign  him?  To 
what  rank  shall  it  elevate  him  in  the  hierarchy  of  those  who 
served  the  ideal  ? 

We  serve  the  ideal  by  doing  good,  discovering  the  truth,  and 
realizing  the  beautiful.  At  the  head  of  the  holy  procession  of 
humanity,  walks  the  good  man,  the  virtuous  man;  the  second 
rank  belongs  to  the  searcher  after  truth,  the  scientific  man,  the 
philosopher:  then  comes  the  man  of  the  beautiful,  the  artist, 


SAINT  PAUL.  329 

the  poet.  Jesus  appears  to  us  under  his  celestial  aureola,  like 
an  ideal  of  goodness  and  beauty.  Peter  loved  Jesus,  understood 
him ;  and  was,  it  appears,  in  spite  of  a  few  weaknesses,  an  ex- 
cellent man.  What  was  Paul?  He  was  not  a  saint.  The 
dominant  feature  of  his  character  is  not  goodness.  He  was 
haughty,  pertinacious,  aggressive ;  he  defended  himself,maintained 
his  point  (as  is  said  in  our  days) ;  his  expressions  were  harsh ; 
he  deemed  himself  absolutely  in  the  right;  he  clung  to  his 
opinions;  he  quarrelled  with  different  persons.  He  was  not 
learned.  It  may  even  be  said  that  he  greatly  injured  science  by 
his  paradoxical  contempt  for  reason,  by  his  eulogy  upon  ap- 
parent folly,  by  his  apotheosis  of  transcendental  absurdity.  Nor 
was  he  a  poet  either.  His  writings,  works  of  the  greatest  origi- 
nality, are  without  charm.  Their  form  is  harsh,  and  almost 
always  devoid  of  grace.  What  was  he  then  ? 

He  was  an  eminent  man  of  action ;  of  powerful  soul,  progres- 
sive, enthusiastic ;  a  conqueror,  a  missionary,  a  propagator ;  the 
more  ardent,  from  having  at  first  displayed  his  fanaticism  in 
an  opposite  direction.  Now  the  man  of  action,  noble  as  he  is 
when  he  has  a  noble  design  in  view,  is  less  near  God  than  he 
who  haslived  upon  the  pure  love  of  the  actual,  thetgood,  or  the 
beautiful.  By  nature  the  apostle  is  a  little  narrow-minded.  He 
wishes  to  succeed,  —  for  this  he  makes  sacrifices.  Contact  with 
reality  always  sullies  a  little.  The  first  places  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  are  reserved  for  those  whom  a  ray  of  grace  has  reached ; 
those  who  have  only  worshipped  the  ideal.  The  man  of  action 
is  always  a  poor  artist,  for  his  sole  design  is  not  to  reflect  the 
splendor  of  the  universe.  He  could  not  become  a  man  of 
learning,  for  he  regulates  his  opinions  according  to  political 
utility.  He  is  not  even  a  very  virtuous  man,  for  he  is  never 
irreproachable, —  the  foolishness  and  wickedness  of  men  forcing 
him  to  covenant  with  them.  Above  all,  he  is  never  agreeable. 
Reserve,  the  most  charming  of  virtues,  is  forbidden  him.  The 
world  favors  the  bfcld, —  those  who  help  themselves.  Paul,  so 
great,  so  upright,  is  obliged  to  decree  to  himself  the  title  of 
28* 


33°  SAINT  PAUL. 

apostle.  Our  faults  render  us  strong  in  action,  — our  good  quali- 
ties weaken  us.  All  in  all,  that  historical  character  which  bears 
most  analogy  to  St.  Paul,  is  Luther.  In  both  there  is  the  same 
violence  in  language,10  the  same  passion,  the  same  energy,  the 
same  noble  independence,  the  same  frantic  attachment  to  a 
thesis  embraced  as  the  absolute  truth. 

I  persist,  therefore,  in  thinking  that  the  part  taken  by  Paul  in 
the  creation  of  Christianity,  should  be  ranked  far  below  that  of 
Jesus.  According  to  my  opinion,  Paul  should  even  occupy  a 
position  beneath  Francis  d' Assisi  and  the  author  of  the  "  Imi- 
tation," both  of  whom  saw  Jesus  in  close  proximity.  The  Son 
of  God  stands  alone.  To  appear  for  a  moment,  to  reflect  a  soft 
and  profound  refulgence,  to  die  very  young,  is  the  life  of  a  God. 
To  struggle,  dispute,  and  conquer,  is  the  life  of  a  man.  After 
having  been  for  three  centuries,  thanks  to  orthodox  Protes- 
tantism, the  Christian  teacher  par  excellence,  Paul  sees  in  our 
day  his  reign  drawing  to  a  close.  Jesus,  on  the  contrary,  lives 
more  than  ever.  It  is  no  longer  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
which  is  the  resume  of  Christianity, — it  is  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount.  True  Christianity,  which  will  last  forever,  comes  from 
the  gospels, — not  from  the  epistles  of  Paul.  The  writings  of 
Paul  have  been  a  danger  and  a  hidden  rock,  —  the  causes  of  the 
principal  defects  of  Christian  theology.  Paul  is  the  father  of 
the  subtle  Augustine,  of  the  unfruitful  Thomas  Aquinas,  of  the 
gloomy  Calvinist,  of  the  peevish  Jansenist,  of  the  fierce  theology 
which  damns  and  predestinates  to  damnation.  Jesus  is  the 
father  of  all  those  who  seek  repose  for  their  souls  in  dreams  of 
the  ideal.  What  makes  Christianity  live,  is  the  little  that  we 
know  of  the  word  and  person  of  Jesus.  The  ideal  man,  the 
divine  poet,  the  great  artist,  alone  defy  time  and  revolutions. 
They  alone  are  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  God  the  Father  for 
ever  more. 

O  Humanity!  thou  art  just,  at  times,  and  certain  of  thy 
judgments  are  good.  * 


NOTES  TO   SAINT  PAUL. 


INTRODUCTION. 

1.  II.  Thess.  ii.  2. 

2.  II.  Thess.  iii.  17;  I.  Cor.  xvi.  21 ;  Col.  iv.  18;  Gal.  vi.  2. 

3.  In  the  following  discussion,  I  call  "superscription"  the  first  phrase, 

II(XvA.o?f  ditotiroXoSy  etc.  I  call  "title"  the  indication  placed  at 
the  head  of  each  epistle  in  the  manuscript,  itpof  'PaajtaiovS,  it  pot 
'EfipaioVi,  etc. 

4.  Col.  i.  15,  and  following. 

5.  Comp.  Col.  ii.  2,  3. 

6.  Notice  Tt\rjfK*)}J.a.,  with  a  particular  shade  of  meaning  (i.  19,  ii.  9) ;  the 

expression  raj  xvpicp  Xpitircp  (iii.  24),  (paveovtiSai  (iii.  4),  for  the 
Ttapov6ia  of  Christ ;  the  compound  words  TtiSavohoyiaiy  e3c/lo- 
SprjtiKsia,  oq>S&Xno8ovXEia.  The  rare  use  of  particles,  a  re- 
markable taste  for  gathering  together  parts  of  sentences  joined  by 
the  relative  pronoun  or  by  the  participial  connection,  and  certain 
other  small  idioms,  are  very  unlike  the  usual  style  of  Paul. 

7.  Col.  i.  16-19. 

8.  Col.  i.  20. 

9.  Col.  iii.  ii.     Comp.  Gal.  Hi.  28;  Col.  ii.  5.     Comp.  I.  Cor.  v.  3. 

10.  Upedfivrrjc,  of  Philem.  9,  is  surprising.     The  same  may  be  said  of  the 

propose  dtravels,  Phil.  ii.  24 ;  Philem.  22.  Compare  Rom.  xv.  23, 
and  following ;  Acts  xx.  25,  not  forgetting  the  traditions  respecting 
the  journey  ings  of  St.  Paul  in  Spain.  The  salutations  (Col.  iv.  10, 
ii,  14;  Philem.  23,  24)  are  somewhat  embarrassing.  One  is  surprised 
to  find  such  intimate  relations  existing  between  Paul  and  the  cities  of 
the  valley  of  Lycus,  where  he  had  not.  sojourned. 

11.  Below  page  274,  and  following.     See  especially  Rom.  ix.  5  ;  I.  Cor.  viii. 

6;  II.  Cor.  v.  19. 

12.  Apoc.  xix.  13,  Hebr.  i.  2, — writings  dated  with  the  greatest  precision, 

and  only  three  or  four  years  after  the  time  at  which  Paul  must  have 
written  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians. 

13.  Epiphanius,  Hzer.  xlii.  9. 

14.  Note  the  ja/'y/ie??  (Eph.  vi.  21),  comparing  it  with  Col.  iv.  7. 

15.  Eph.  i.  11-14;  "•  JI»  an(l  following;  iii.  i,  agd  following;  iv.  17. 

(33D 


332  SAINT  PAUL. 

16.  Eph.  i.  13,  15  ;  ii.  n,  and  following;  iii.  1-13  ;  iv.  20,  etc.     Note  espe- 

cially the  passages,  iii.  2,  iv.  21,  which  give  the  impression  that  among 
those  to  whom  Paul  writes  there  may  be  some  whom  he  does  not  know. 

17.  If  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  was  encyclical  (see,  further,  p.  Ixxii.  and 

following),  our  present  reasoning  is  all  the  more  forcible. 

18.  Against  Eunomius,  ii.  19.     Ovroa  nai  oi  Ttpo  rfn&jv 

uai  r?vei$  iv  roi$  TtaXaioiS  TWV  drnypdcpoov 
This  treatise  was  written  about  the  year  365. 

19.  Origen,  passage  taken  from  a  Chain  in  Tischendorf ;  Nov.  Test.,  yth 

edition  (Leipsic,  1859),  p.  441,  note;  Tertullian  against  Martian, 
v.  ii.  17  ;  —  passages  which  presuppose  that  neither  Marcion  nor  Ter- 
tullian had  the  words  ev  Ecpedoa  in  their  manuscripts,  in  the  first 
verse.  If  this  be  not  so,  first,  it  would  be  impossible  to  understand 
the  opinion  of  Marcion ;  secondly,  Tertullian  would  overwhelm  him 
with  this  text.  Now  Tertullian  opposes  Marcion  solely  with  the  title 
Ttpo<3  EcpetiiovZ,  and  with  the  authority  of  the  church  (Saint  Jerome). 
Third,  Eph.  i.  I,  in  which  quidam  refers  undoubtedly  to  Origen. 

20.  See  further,  p.  xix.,  note  i. 

21.  Tertullian,  1.  c.     Compare,  however,  Epiph.  hser.  xlii.  9,  n,  12;  Canon 

of  Muratori,  lines  62-67. 

22.  It  may  be  also  that  his  attributing  this  was  the  result  of  a  conjecture 

arising  from  the  comparing  of  Eph.  vi.  21,  22,  with  II.  Tim.  iv.  12. 

23.  Cf.  Rom.  i.  7  ;  II.  Cor.  i.  i  ;   Phil.  i.  i. 

24.  Comp.  Eph.  ii.  with  Col.  i.  13-22,  and  with  Col.  ii.  12-14;  Eph.  iii. 

1-12,  with  Col.  i.  25-28;  Eph.  iii.  18,  19,  with  Col.  ii.  2,  3;  Eph. 
iv.  3-16,  with  Col.  iii.  14;  Eph.  v.  21,  vi.  4,  with  Col.  iii.  18-21 ; 
Eph.  iii.  19,  iv.  13,  with  Col.  ii.  9,  10.  On  the  contrary,  Eph.  iv.  14, 
and  v.  6,  is  less  developed  than  Col.  ii.  4-23,  the  passage  against 
false  doctors  necessarily  presenting  only  general  features  of  resem- 
blance in  an  epistle  without  address. 

25.  Kai  v/asi?.     Comp.  Col.  iv.  17. 

26.  Comp.,  for  example,  Eph.  iv.  2,  32,  v.  i,  with  Col.  iii.  12,  13.     The 

imitation,  in  this  case,  is  of  such  a  nature  that  it  can  only  be  the  work 
of  a  servile  copyist.  Comp.  also,  Eph.  iv.  n,  with  I.  Cor.  xii.  28; 
Eph.  iii.  8,  with  I.  Cor.  xv.  9 ;  Eph.  iii.  9,  with  I.  Cor.  iv.  i ;  Eph.  i. 
20,  with  Rom.  viii.  34;  Eph.  iv.  17,  and  following,  with  Rom.  i.  21, 
and  following;  Eph.  vi.  17,  with  I.  Thess.  v.  8. 

27.  ^zor/JoAo?,  doorrfpiov,  sr  rolZ  kitovpavioit,,  roc  itvEvnaTind, 

for  roc  rtvevLiara,  cpoori^Eiv  in  the  sense  of  teaching,  oinovo^ia 
applied  to  the  divine  plan,  the  peculiar  construction  of  TtXrjpovtfSai, 
itire  yivG36novTE$,  fiatiiXsia  rov  xpi^rov  nod  Ssov,  nod/uo- 
Kparopst,  etc.  The  salutation  (vi.  23,  24)  is  most  extraordinary. 
The  vaunting  of  iii.  4,  is  still  more  so. 

28.  Ch.  ii.  and- iii.,  especially. 


SAINT    PAUL.  333 

29.  I.  19,  and  following  ;  ii.  2  ;  iii.  9,  and  following  ;  18,  19  ;  iv.  13  ;  vi.  12. 

Comp.  Valentine,  in  the  rhilosophumena,  vi.  34. 

30.  See  espeeially,  ii.  1-22. 

31.  Eph.  iv.  8-10  ;  v.  14;  vi.  2,  3. 

32.  Eph.  iii.  5.     The  Codex  Vaticanus  omits  a.Tto6ro\.oi'->  (cf.  Col.  i.  26)  ; 

but  the  Codex  Sinaiticns  gives  this  word.  Comp.  Eph.  iii.  8  ;  I.  Cor. 
xv.  9,  and  also  Eph.  ii.  20. 

33.  Eph.  v.  22,  and  following.     Comp.  I.  Cor.  vii. 

34.  Col.  iv.  7  ;  Eph.  vi.  21,  22. 

35.  If  the  so-called  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  was  the  Epistle  to  the  Laodi- 

ceans  mentioned  in  Col.  iv.  16,  one  can  not  understand  why  St.  Paul 
should  command  both  churches  to  lend  to  each  other  two  writings  so 
similar.  Moreover,  as  the  Epistle  addressed  to  the  Colossians,  with 
whom  Paul  had  had  no  personal  relations  (Col.  ii.  i),  contains  a  local 
part,  salutations,  etc.,  why  should  not  the  Epistle  to  the  Laodiceans 
contain  them?  Finally,  it  is  not  comprehensible  how  iv  AaodiXEicx. 
should  become  iv  *Jfy»$<ftv,  or  have  disappeared. 

36.  Kai  vjueiS  (vi.  21)  is  thus  explained. 

37.  The  absence  of  the  name  of  Timothy  in  the  superscription  of  the  Epistle 

to  the  Ephesians,  at  the  same  time  that  this  name  appears  in  the  super- 
scription of  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians,  as  well  as  in  the  superscrip- 
tions of  the  Epistles  to  the  Philippians  and  to  Philemon,  confirms 
this  supposition. 

38.  Origen  offers  a  similar  hypothesis  to  explain  the  peculiarities  of  the 

Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.     In  Eusebius,  H.  E.  vi.  25. 

39.  Cf.  I.  Petri,  i.  i,  2,  3  (Eph.  i.  i,  3,  4,  7);  ii.   18  (Eph.  vi.  5);  iii.    I, 

and  following  (Eph.  v.  22,  and  following)  ;  iii.  22  (Eph.  i.  20,  and 
following)  ;  v.  5  (Eph.  v.  21). 

40.  Polycarp,  epistle  ad  Phit  '.,  c.  I,  and  c.  12  (perhaps  interpolated)  ;  Igna- 

tius ad  Eph.  c.  6  (interpolated),  c.  12;  Irenaeus,  Adv.  Har.  v.  ii.  3; 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  Cohort  ad  Gentes,  c.  9  ;  Strom,  iv.  8  ;  Tertul- 
lian,  Adv.  Marc.,v.  n,  17  ;  Valentine,  in  the  Pkilosophumena,  vi.  34; 
Canon  of  Muratori,  line  50. 

41.  For  example,  the  formula  £apz?  eAfoS  Etprfvrj  (cf.  ii.  Joh-3),  itidrdS 

6  XoyoS,  8i8a6xa'\.ia  vyiaivov6a,k6yot  vyiaivovr^^  XoyoS 
,,  vyiaivEiv  iv  ry  jtititEt  fisfiiiA-oS,  aipETtnoS 


EitKpdvEia.  (in  place  of  itapovtiia),  daorrfp  applied  to  the 
Deity,  naTaioXoyoS,  /j.aTaioXoyiafXoyoiJ,axi(x.i,XoyoiJ.(x.xElv, 
KEvocpGdviai,  6ci)cppovi6^6<3y  dco(ppovGo<3j  tiKHppcav,  napai- 
rsitiSai,  TCEpiidratiSai,  dtiroxElv,  vTtoninvrjtinEiv,  itapa- 
HoA.ov$Eiv  ry  SiSadnaA-ia,  npode'xeir,  dpvEWSai,  uakoi 
spya,  dEtiTtorr/S  ift  place  of  xvpioS,  etc.  The  greater  number 
of  these  expressions  recur  frequently  in  these  three  epistles.  They 


334  SAINT  PAUL. 

are  wanting,  or  are  rare,  in  the  authentic  epistles.  With  a  diction- 
ary as  limited  as  that  of  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament,  the 
reasons  which  we  have  just  given  have  always  great  force.  The 
average  number  of  times  which  a  word  must  recur  in  a  certain 
number  of  the  pages  of  an  author,  especially  of  an  author  like  Saint 
Paul,  is  almost  certain.  In  like  manner,  an  assemblage  of  words 
unusual  to  an  author,  meeting  as  if  by  appointment  in  a  few  pages, 
proves  that  these  pages  do  not  belong  to  the  writer  in  question.  Now, 
what  especially  characterizes  our  three  epistles  is  the  constant  recur- 
rence of  the  same  words,  and  which  are  not  found,  or  found  but 
seldom,  in  the  other  epistles. 

42.  For  example,  the  solemn  superscriptions  (compare  Philem.  i) ;  and  yet 

Paul  was  less  intimate  with  Philemon  than  with  Titus  and  Timothy. 
The  details  into  which  Paul  enters  in  regard  to  his  apostleship  (I.  Tim. 
i.  n,  and  following;  ii.  7),  details  which,  addressed  to  a  disciple,  are 
entirely  useless;  the  enumeration  of  his  virtues  (II.  Tim.  iii.  10,  n) ; 
his  assurance  of  final  salvation  (II.  Tim.  iv.  8  ;  cf.  I.  Cor.  iv.  3,  4 ;  ix. 
27  ;  I.  Tim.  i.  13)  comes  well  from  the  pen  of  a  disciple  of  Paul's,  not 
from  the  pen  of  Paul  himself.  I.  Tim.  ii.  2,  has  no  meaning  in  the 
latter  years  of  Nero's  reign ;  that  was  written  after  the  accession  of 
Vespasian.  Ibid,  v.  18,  we  find  quoted  as  ypfjuprj,  a  passage  of  Luke, 
x.  7 ;  but  the  Gospel  of  St.  Luke  did  not  exist,  at  least  as  ypacprf, 
before  the  death  of  Paul.  Finally,  the  organization  of  the  churches, 
the  hierarchy,  the  priestly  and  episcopal  power,  are,  in  these  epistles, 
much  more  developed  than  we  can  suppose  them  to  have  been  in  the 
last  years  of  the  life  of  Paul  (see  Titus  i.  5,  etc. )  Timothy  received 
the  spiritual  gifts,  the  "imposition  of  hands,"  by  the  college  of 
the  priests  of  Lystra  (I.  Tim.  ii.  15  ;  iv.  14).  The  doctrine  on  mar- 
riage (I.  Tim.  ii.  15;  iv.  3;  v.  14;  cf.  iii.  4,  12;  v.  10)  is  also  of  a 
more  advanced  age  of  the  church,  and  seems  to  contradict  I.  Cor.  vii. 
8-25,  et  seq.  The  destination  of  the  Epistles  to  Timothy  is  reputed 
to  be  Ephesus.  How  is  it  that  we  do  not  find  in  these  epistles  any 
message  or  salutation  expressly  for  the  Ephesians  ? 

43.  Observe,  for  example,  II.  Tim.  iii.  10,  ii,  or  else  I.  Tim.  i.  3,  et.  seq. 

20;    and  the  mention  of  Pontius  Pilate,  I.  Tim.  vi.  13,  etc. 

44.  Remark  the  insignificance  of  the  passage  (I.  Tim.  iii.  14,  15)  which  seeks 

to  give  the  reason  for  these  useless  delays. 

45.  Notice  if}vdoavv/iiov  yraodZGO's,  I.  Tim.  vi.  20. 

46.  Compare  I.  Tim.  i.  4 ;  iv.  7  ;  II.  Tim.  ii.  23 ;  Tit.  iii.  9 ;  I.  Tim.  iii.  2 ; 

Tit.  i.  7  ;  I.  Tim.  iv.  I,  et  seq.;  II.  Tim.  iii.  i,  et  seq.;  I.  Tim.  ii.; 
II.  Tim.  i.  ii.  Notice  the  analogy  in  the  beginning  of  the  matter. 
I.  Tim.  i.  3,  and  Tit.  i.  5. 

47.  II.  Tim.  i.  3  (Rom.  i.  9),  7  (Rom.  viii.  15);  ii.  20  (Rom.  .ix.  21);  iv.  6 

(Phil.  i.  30;  ii.  17;  Hi.  12,  et  seq.) 


SAINT  PAUL.  335 

48.  Notice  that  Timothy  was  young  when  these  two  epistles  were  addressed 

to  him.     I.  Tim.  iv.  12 ;  II.  Tim.  ii.  22. 

49.  Lamennais  certainly  changed  much.     His  style,  nevertheless,  kept  always 

the  most  perfect  unity. 

50.  See  p.  251,  et  seq.     There  is  no  time  in  the  life  of  Paul  when  we  better 

know  his  plans  of  travel.  Paul,  it  is  true,  modified  several  times 
these  plans,  but  he  never  varied  his  intention  of  not  returning  by  the 
way  of  Ephesus.  The  reason  is  evident ;  he  had  just  passed  three 
years  there. 

51.  I.  Tim.  iii.  15;  v.  9,  17,  19,  20. 

52.  I.  Tim.  i. 

53.  Notice,  particularly,  Acts  xx.    29,  et.   seq.,  where  these  errors  are 

foretold. 

54.  Phil.  i.  i ;  ii.  19 ;  Col.  L  I ;  Philem.  I ;  Heb.  xiii.  23. 

55.  llapijXoXovSrjtidS  nov  implies  that  Timothy  was  an  eye-witness  of 

these  facts,  and  was  implicated  in  them.  In  fact,  why  does  the 
writer  choose,  for  example,  the  trials  of  Paul  in  Galatia,  if  not  be- 
cause he  knows  that  to  be  the  country  of  Timothy  ? 

56.  See  Chap,  xvi.,  note  44 ;  and  Chap,  xvii.,  note  96.     Even  admitting  that 

fJ.£Xpi  TOV  IXXvpiKov  implies  that  Paul  was  very  near  Illyria,  the 
fact  that  he  was  at  Nicopolis  in  no  way  aids  the  question.  H.At>  - 
piKov,  in  whatever  sense  we  take  the  word,  did  not  descend  lower 
than  the  Acroceraunian  Mountains.  Epirus  never  made  part  —  at 
least  in  the  time  of  the  great  empire  —  of  the  province  of  Illyria,  nor 
of  I\\.vpiHo  v ,  in  any  sense.  The  pretorian  province  of  Illyria  juxta 
Epirum,  now  high  Albania  (Strabo,  xvii.  iii.  25),  was  bounded  by  the 
Acroceraunian  Mountains,  Mount  Scardus,  and  the  Drilo.  At  Berea, 
Paul  was  nearer  Illyria  than  he  had  been  at  Nicopolis. 

57.  TpiEriav  VVHTOL  HOC.L  rj}j.ipa.v  OVK  Eita.v<5anrfv  juera  danpvGov 

vovSeroav  era  tuatiTOv. 

58.  See  p.  257,  et  seq. 

59.  II.  Cor.  x.  14-16. 

60.  I.  Tim.  L  3,  supposes  that  Paul  writes  to  his  disciple  for  the  first  time 

since  his  departure  from  Ephesus. 

61.  Compare  Col.  i.  25;  II.  Cor.  x.  16;  Rom.  xvi.  26.     It  is  not  for  us 

to  explain  the  contradiction  between  II.  Tim.  iv.  17,  18,  and  II. 
Tim.  iv.  6-8.  To  make  II.  Tim.  iv.  16,  17,  refer  to  the  first  capti- 
vity as  retrospective  historical  information,  is  simply  absurd,  especially 
when  we  read  these  two  verses  in  connection  with  the  i8th. 

62.  Acts  xx.  25. 

63.  Phil.  ii.  24 ;  Philem.  22. 

64.  Thus  Onesiphorus  and  Alexander  the  coppersmith  are  assigned  to  Rome 

and  Ephesus  in  a  manner  not  explained,  II.  Tim.  i.  16-18;  iv.  14,  15. 

65.  In  Eusebius,  ii.  E.  ii.  25. 


336  SAINT  PAUL. 

66.  It  seems  also  that  there  are  some  reminiscences  from  the  first  Epistle  of 

Peter.     Compare  I.  Tim.  ii.  9,  et  seq.,  to  I.  Pet.  Hi.  i,  et  seq. 

67.  II.  Tim.  iv.  9,  et  seq. 

68.  II.  Tim.  i.  15,  16,  et  seq.,  especially  verse  18 ;  ii.  17,  et  seq. ;  iv.  14,  et 

seq.,  particularly  verse  15. 

69.  Note,  however,  II.  Tim.  iii.  n.     Compare,  also,  Acts  xx.  25,  and  II. 

Tim.  iv.  7. 

70.  There  are  yet  other  apocryphal  Epistles  of  Paul  since  the  second  cen- 

tury. Canon  of  Muratori,  lines  62-67 ;  Epiph.  haer.  xlii.  9,  n,  12; 
St.  Jerome,  De  Viris  III.,  5 ;  Theodoret,  on  Col.  iv.  16,  et  seq. 

71.  Tertullian,  De  Baptismo,  17. 

72.  Ad  Autolye.,  iii.  14. 

73.  Contra  Har.  i.  proem,  i. 

74.  Stromates,  ii.  n. 

75.  Prasser.  25. 

76.  Tertullian,  Adv.  Marc.  v.  21 ;  Epiph.  Haer.  xlii.  9. 

77.  Epist.  i.  ad  Cor.  2,  29. 

78.  Ad  Eph.  2. 

79.  Ad  Phil.  4. 

80.  In  Eusebius,  II.  E.  iii.  32.     Compare  I.  Tim.  i.  3-6,  10 ;  vi.  20.     See 

Baur.  Paulus  (2d  edition),  vol.  ii,  p.  110-112. 

8 1.  See  above,  p.  33. 

82.  For  example,  7;  vyiaivovtia  did  atixaXia,  sana  doctrina. 

83.  On  the  Stichometry  in  the  old  manuscripts,  see  Fr.  Ritschl,  Opuscula 

philologica,  I.  p.  74,  et  seq.  ;   173,  et  seq.  ;   190,  et  seq". 

84.  This   Stichometry  (fol.  468,  v.)  places  in  the  list  of  sacred   writings 

an  Epistula  Barnaba:,  which  may  be  the  epistle  usually  attributed 
to  Barnabas.  Nevertheless,  the  Stichometry  of  the  Codex  Claro- 
montanus  gives  to  his  Epistula  Barnabce  a  number  of  tfrzjoz, 
which  is  nearly  the  figure  belonging  to  the  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews, and  not  that  which  belongs  to  the  epistle  usually  attributed 
to  Barnabas  (see  Credner,  Gesch  des  neutest.  Kanon,  p.  175,  et  seq. ; 
242  et  seq. )  It  is  supposed  that  the  Epistula  Barnaba,  mentioned  in 
the  Stichometry  of  the  Codex  Claromontanus,  was  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews  that  Tertullian  attributed  to  Barnabas.  That  which 
confirms  this  reasoning  is,  first,  that  the  Stichomelry  of  the  Claro- 
montamis  contains  many  faults  and  peculiarities;  second,  that  the 
epistle  commonly  attributed  to  Barnabas  is  found  in  the  Codex 
Sinaiticus  with  the  Pastor,  in  a  way  which  seems  to  agree  with  the 
Stichometry  of  the  Claromontanus  (see,  however,  Tertullian,  De 
Pudic.  20). 

85.  Tischendorf,  Codex  Claromontanus,  p.  xvi. 

86.  Epiph.  Haer.  xlii.  9. 


SAINT  PAUL.  337 

87.  Etienne  Gobar,  in  Photius.     Biblioth.  cod.  ccxxxiii.  p.  291  (Bekkcr) ; 

Euseb.  H.  E.  v.  26.  In  his  polemic  against  the  heresies,  Irenoeus 
cites  frequently  all  the  Epistles  of  Paul ;  he  does  not  quote  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  which  would  answer  his  purpose  so  well. 

88.  Cited  by  Eusebius,  H.  E.,  vi.  13,  14. 

89.  Homil.  in  Hebr.  cited  by  Eusebius,  H.  E.  vi.  25  ;  Epist.  ad  Africa- 

num,  c.  9.  In  Matth.  Comment.,  series  28;  De  Prinrip.  prcrf.  i.; 
Hi.  i,  10;  iv.  22. 

90.  De  Pudicitia,  20.    Tertullian,  moreover,  does  not  make  the  same  use  of 

it  as  of  the  other  Epistles  of  Paul.  He  does  not  reproach  Marcion  for 
suppressing  it. 

91.  Eusebius,  H.  E.  vi.  20;  St.  Jerome,  De  Viris  ill.  59. 

92.  Photius,  1.  c.,  et  cod.  cxxi.  p.  94  (Bekker).   The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 

is  not  quoted  in  the  Philosophumena,  although  all  the  other  great 
epistles  are  quoted  there  several  times. 

93.  Ad  Fortunatitm,  de  exhort,  mart.  1 1. 

94.  Quoted  by  Eusebius,  H.  E.  vi.  41. 

95.  Council  of  Antioch,  in  the  year  264,  in  Mansi,  Coll.  concil.  \.  p.  1038 ; 

Alexander  of  Alexandria,  in  Theodoret,  H.  E.  i.  3,  and  in  Socrates, 
H.  E.  i,  6,  Athanasius,  Epist.  fest.  (Opp.  i.  p.  962,  edit.  Bened. ) 
Synopsis  script,  sacr.  (Opp.  i.  p.  130,  197.);  St.  Greg,  of  Naz., 
Carmina,  p.  201  and  1105  (edit.  Caillau). 

96.  Eusebius,  H.  E.  iii.  3,  38;  vi.  13;  St.  Greg,  of  Naz.,  op  tit.,  p.  1105. 

97.  Saint  Jerome,  In  Is.,  c.  vi.,  vii.,  viii.  ;  luZach.  viii.  ;  In  Matt.  xxvi. ; 

De  Viris  ill.,  59;  Epist.  ad  Panlinum,  ii. ;  De  stud,  script,  (vol.  iv.  2d 
part.  col.  574,  Martianay) ;  Epist.  ad  Dardamim  (ii.  608,  Mart.); 
Saint  Augustine,  De  civ.  Dei,  xvi.  22 ;  Primasius,  Comment,  in 
epist.  Panli,  praef.  (in  the  Max.  Bibl.  Vet.  Patrum.  Lugd.,  x.  p. 
144);  Philaster,  De  Haresibus,  hoer.  Ixi.  (in  Galandi,  Bibl.  Vet.  Pa- 
ir um,  vii.  p.  494,495) ;  Isidore  of  Seville,  De  eccl.  offidis,  i.  xii.  ii. 
Remark,  especially,  the  little  use  that  is  made  of  this  epistle  by  the 
Latin  Fathers  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries. 

98.  Eusebius,  H.  E.  iii.  3 ;  vi.  20 ;    St.   Jerome,  De   Viris    ill.  59.     Hi- 

laire,  deacon  of  the  church  of  Rome  (Ambrosian)  expounds  the 
"thirteen"  Epistles  of  Paul,  not  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 

99.  Eusebius,  H.  E.  iii.  38. 

100.  Epis.  ad  Dardanum,  i.  c. ;  In  Jer.  xxxi.  ;   in   Tit.  i.  5  ;  ii.  2;     De 

Viris  ill.  5. 

101.  De  peccatorum  meritis  et  remissione,  i.  §  50 ;  IncJwata  expositio  ep. 

ad  Rom.  §  ii.     Comp.  De  doctrina  christ.  ii.  §  13. 

102.  Passages  of  Eusebius,  of  Saint  Jerome,  of  Primasius,  of  Philaster,  of 

Isidore  of  Seville,  before  cited. 

103.  Passages  above  alluded  to. 

29 


338  SAINT  PAUL. 

104.  See  particularly  x.  5,  where  the  argument  is  based  on  a  fault  of  the 

reading,  or  of  the  copyist;  i]^f.7^i6o!.66K)^a  for  r/$eA.7jtfati  aorta. 

105.  Gal.  ii.  7,  8;  II.  Cor.  x.  13.  et  seq.  ;  Rom.  xv.  20,  et  seq. 

1  06.  vii.   27;  viii.  3,4;   ix.  6-10;   xiii.  11-13.     We  will  examine  in  the 
fourth  volume  the  objections  which  are  made  to  this  argument. 

107.  Compare  x.  34. 

108.  Remark  ovEiSitf/uoiZ  TS  uat  S'ktyzGiv  Ssarpi^o/uerot,  observing 

the  last  word.  All  this  will  be  treated  in  our  fourth  volume.  We 
will  also  explain  there  the  passage  rrjv  dpitayrjv  TK>V  vTtap- 
XOVT&V  vju&v  .  .  .  Trpoded  £$a(}$£  (x.  34)  by  details  of  the 
same  time.  4E(5/u.oi$  jiiov  (ibid.)  is  an  awkward  correction  for 


109.  The  author  of  the  letter  gives  news  of  Timothy.  He  supposes  the 
persecution  by  Nero  and  the  death  of  the  apostles  to  be  known. 
We  are  then  led  to  believe  that  when  he  wrote,  these  facts  were 
already  old;  x.  34,  however,  prevents  our  believing  them  to  be 
long  passed. 

HO.  The  final  notes,  which,  in  the  accepted  text  of  the  New  Testament  and 
in  the  versions  derived  from  it,  claim  to  point  out  the  place  where  the 
epistle  was  written  and  the  name  of  the  bearer,  are,  from  modern 
schoHasts,  void  of  all  value. 

in.   II.  Cor.  x.  13,  et  seq;  Rom.  xv.  20,  et  seq. 

112.  Griesbach,  Nov.  Test.  ii.  p.  212,  213. 

113.  Note  especially  verses  8,  9. 

114.  Ibid,  verses  9,  12. 

115.  II.  Cor.  viii.   6;  ix.   5;  xii.    18.     Cf.  I.  Tim.  i.  3.     See   Saint  John 

Chrysostom,  on  this  last  passage. 

1  1  6.   See  p.  255. 

117.  II.  Tim.  iv.  21,  a  passage  which  has  historical  value,  although  the 
letter  is  apocryphal. 

1  1  8.   I.  Cor.  xvi.  19. 

119.  iv.  19.  Ephesus  is  always  the  aim  of  the  author  of  the  epistles  to 
Timothy,  although  in  this  respect  he  shows  himself  inconsistent. 
The  orthodox  theologians,  who  understand  literally  Rom.  xvi.  3, 
and  ii.  Tim.  iv.  19,  are  obliged  to  make  Aquila  and  Priscilla  travel 
from  Rome  to  Corinth  and  Ephesus  (Acts  xviii.  2,  18,  19-26)  ;  from 
Ephesus  to  Rome  (Rom.  1.  c.)  ;  from  Rome  to  Ephesus  (II.  Tim. 
1.  c.  ).  It  seems,  even,  that  they  would  like  to  reserve  means  to  make 
them  return  a  second  time  from  Ephesus  to  Rome.  De  Rossi,  Bull. 
di  arch,  crist.  1867,  p.  44.  et  seq. 

1  20.  Edit,  of  Roswlyde,  Antwerp,  1613.  Cf.  De  Rossi,  1.  c.  and  Roma 
sott.  ii.  p.  xxviii.  xxix. 

121.  Note,  for  example,  the  name  of  Phlegon. 


SAINT  PAUL.  339 

122.  In  part,  in  consequence  of  the  ordinance  of  Claudius  in  reference  to  the 

assumption  of  Roman  names.     Suetonius,  Claudius,  25. 

123.  Cimitero  digit  antichi  Ebrei,  p.  63. 

124.  In  the  uncertainty  of  the  manuscripts  Apropos  of  the  place  of  verse  24. 

See  Griesbach,  Nov.  Test.  ii.  p.  222. 

125.  See  the  editions  of  these  Codices  given  by  Matthrci  (Meissen,  1791), 

and  by  Scrivener  (Cambridge,  1859),  or  Griesbach,  Nov.  Test.  ii.  p. 
212.  In  the  Bccrnerianus,  a  blank  is  left  at  the  end  of  Chap.  xiv. 
In  the  Claromontanus,  the  passage  is  found  at  the  end  of  Chap. 
xvi.  but  we  feel  that  the  correctors  have  taken  it  on  suspicion 
(Tischendorf,  Codex  Clarom.  p.  550). 

126.  See  Origen,    Comment,  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  book  x.  43. 

It  is  evident  that  here  Marcion  was  not  influenced  by  any  dogmatic 
view. 

127.  See  Col.  iv.  16,  and  above,  p.  18,  et  seq.      It  is  remarkable  that  the 

author  of  the  ia  Petri,  which  makes  use  of  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  uses 
chiefly  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians. 
—  that  is  to  say,  the  two  epistles  which  are  general  treatises,  cate- 
chisms. 

128.  We  will  see  the  epistles  called  "catholic"  come  out  in  an  analogous 

manner. 

129.  Perhaps  the  edition  of  Paul's  letters  was  made  at  Rome. 

130.  See  how  we  can  suppose  the  four  exemplars  arranged :  — 

1°  Exemplar  of  the  church  of  Rome ;  the  first  eleven  chapters,  +  the  entire 

fifteenth  chapter. 
2°  Exemplar  of  the  church  of  Ephesus ;  the  first  fourteen  chapters  (with 

some  modifications  in  the  first  half  of  the  first  chapter),  +  xvi.  1-20. 
3°  Exemplar  of  Thessalonica ;   the  first   fourteen   chapters  (with  some 

modifications  in  the  first  half  of  the  first  chapter)  +  xvi.  21-24. 
4°  Exemplar  addressed  to  an  unknown  church ;  the  first  fourteen  chapters 

(with  some  modifications  in  the  first  half  of  the  first  chapter)  +  xvi. 

25-27, — verses  which,  as  we  have  already  said,  in  many  manuscripts, 

follow  immediately  the  last  words  of  the  fourteenth  chapter. 

131.  Note  especially  the  following  passages:  ii.  16;  xi.  13;  xvi.  25. 

132.  See  Chap,  xvii.,  note  65. 

133.  In  the  seventh  verse  we  read  roiS  ovtiiv  sv  aya.ifq  $£ov  to  the 

v.  15  :  vfilv  evayyekitiatiSai.  See  the  edition  of  Matthaei 
(Meissen,  791.) 


340  SAINT  PAUL. 

CHAPTER  I. 

1.  Acts  xiii.  4,  et  seq. 

2.  The  natural  boundary  of  Syria  is  Mount  Casius. 

3.  The  site  of  the  town  is  now  desolate.     There  are  remaining  some  beau- 

tiful ruins,  and  admirable  works  in  the  rock.  V.  Ritter,  Erdkunde, 
xvii.  p.  1233,  et  seq.;  Etudes  de  TheoL  de  Phil,  et  d'Hist.  published 
by  some  Fathers  of  the  Soc.  of  Jesus,  Sept.  1860. 

4.  Continuation  of  the  Amanus. 

5.  Juvenal,  iii.  62,  et  seq. 

6.  Vaillant,  Numism.  grceca  imp.  rom.  p.  30,46,  no;  Mionnet,  Descr. 

des  med.  ant.,  v.  271,  et  seq. 

7.  It  is  possible  that  the  works  actually  existing  are  of  the  second  century, 

or  later. 

8.  The  railroad  which  unites  them  and  Europe  with  Syria,  the  basin  of 

the  Tigris  and  the  Euphrates,  Persia,  and  India,  can  not  border  upon 
the  Mediterranean  except  by  the  valley  of  Orontes.  It  will  end  at 
Seleucia,  or  the  port  Saint  Simeon  of  the  Crusades,  near  there. 

9.  Ammian  Marcellin.,*xxii.  14. 

10.  Mischna,  Schebiit,  vi.  i;  Challah,  iv.  8;  Tosiphta,  Challah,  ch.  2; 
Talmud  of  Jer. ,  Schebiit,  vi.  2 ;  Talmud  of  Babylon,  Gittin,  8,  a; 
Targum  of  Jerusalem,  Numbers  xxxiv.  8 ;  Saint  Jerome,  Epist.  ad 
Dardamim  (Martianey,  ii.  609).  Cf.  Neubauer,  la  Geogr.  du  Tal- 
mud, p.  5,  et  seq. 

n.  Acts  ix.  4,  8;  xx.  13.  It  is  true  that  ite^eveiv  in  this  second  case 
can  simply  be  opposed  to  7T/l«zV. 

12.  Clement  Rom.  ad  Cor-.  l.c.  5. 

13.  Cf.   Deut.  xxv.   3;  cf.  Mischna,  Maccoth,  iii.    10.     The  Acts  do  not 

mention  any  of  these  scourgings.     Comp.  Gal.  vi.  17. 

14.  The  Acts  (xvi.  22)  mention  only  one  of  these  scourgings.    PafidEvSeiZ 

in  Clement  Roman  ad  Cor.  i.  5,  is  a  false  reading.  It  must  be 
(pvyadevSeiS.  See  the  reviews  of  Laurent,  and  of  Hilgenfeld. 

15.  Acts  xi v.  19;  Clem.  Rom.  ad  Cor.  i.  5. 

1 6.  These  three  shipwrecks  are  unknown  to  the  author  of  the  Acts;  for  the 

one  which  he  relates  (xxvii. )  is  posterior  to  the  date  when  Paul  wrote 
the  passage  which  we  quote. 

17.  Doubtless  upon  some  remains  of  the  ship,  swimming  to  escape  death. 

18.  II.   Cor.  xi.  23-27,   Comp.    I.    Thess.   ii.    9;  Gal.  v.  2 ;  I.  Cor.   iv. 

11-13;  xv-  3°>  31  ;-H«  Cor.  iv.  8,  et  seq.  17;  vi.  4,  et  seq;  Rom. 
viii.  35,  36. 

19.  I.  Cor.  ix.  5,  et  seq. 

20.  Gal.  vl  6 ;  I.  Cor.  ix.  7,  et  seq. 


SAINT  PAUL.  34* 

21.  I.  Cor.  ix.  4,  et  seq;  II.  Cor.  xi.  9,  et  seq;  xii.  13,  14,  16;  I.  Thess. 

"•  5>  7-9;  n-  Thess.  iii.  8,  et  seq;  PhiL  iv.  15;  Acts  xx.  33,34. 

22.  II.  Thess.  iii.   10-12. 

23.  Acts  xviii.  3;  xx.  34;  I.  Thess.  ii.  9;  II.  Thess.  iii.  8;  I.  Cor.,  iv.  12. 

24.  Acts  xiii.  14-16;  xvi.  13;  xvii.  2. 

25.  Luke  iv.  16. 

26.  Acts  xiii.  52;  xv.  3,  31. 

27.  Acts  xi.  19. 

28.  Acts  xi.  20;  xxi.  16. 

29.  Jos.  Ant.  XIII.  x.  4 ;  XVII.  xii.  i,  2 ;  Philo,  Leg.  ad  Caium,  §  36. 

30.  Porto-Costanzo,  two  leagues  north  of  Famagouste.    The  city  has  nearly 

disappeared. 

31.  Now,  Bapho. 

32.  Strabo  XIV.  vi.  3 ;  chart  of  Peutinger,  Segm.  IX.  F ;  Pliny,  v.  35 ; 

Ptolemy,  V.  xiv.  I ;  Pomponius  Mela,  II.  vii.  5. 

33.  The  province  in  fact  was  Senatorial.     Strabo  XIV.  vi.  6 ;  XVII.  iii. 

25  ;  Dion  Cassius,  LIV.  4 ;  proconsular  money  of  Cyprus ;  Corp. 
inscr.  gr.t  No.  2632. 

34.  Sergius  Paulus  is  unknown  elsewhere.     It  must  be  remembered  that  the 

proconsuls  of  the  Senatorial  provinces  were  annual,  and  that  Cyprus 
was  the  smallest  of  the  Roman  provinces.  The  text,  the  proconsular 
coins,  and  the  inscriptions  of  Cyprus  do  not  make  it  possible  to  arrange 
a  correct  list  of  the  proconsuls  of  this  isle.  We  can  with  some  degree 
of  certainty  identify  the  personage  of  Acts  with  the  naturalist  of  the 
same  name  cited  by  Pliny  (index  of  authors  at  the  beginning  of  book 
II.  and  book  XVIII.)  Lucius  Sergius  Paulus,  consul  in  the  year  168, 
and  his  daughter  Sergia  Paulina,  who  gave  their  name  to  a  celebrated 
domestic  college  (Orelli,  2414,  4938;  Gruter,  1117,  7;  Fabretti, 
Inscr.  dom.  p.  146,  No.  178,  Amaduzzi,  Anecd.  litt.,  I.  p.  476,  Nos. 
39,  4;  Otto  Jahn,  Specimen  epigraph,  p.  79,  et  seq.)  were  very  proba- 
bly the  descendants  of  our  Sergius  Paulus.  Borghesi,  Pastes  consul. 
[still  unpublished]  in  the  year  168. 

35.  Comp.  Jos.  Ant.  XX.  vii.  2. 

36.  An  Arabian  word  of  which  the  plural  is  oulema.     The  word  does  not 

exist  either  in  Hebrew  or  in  Aramean,  which  renders  this  etymology 
of  Elymas  very  doubtful. 

37.  The  parallelism  of  the  two  recitals  raises  some  doubts  of  the  credibility 

of  the  whole  episode.  It  seems  that  on  several  points  they  have  sought 
to  model  the  legend  of  Paul  on  that  of  Peter. 

38.  A  proconsul  was  a  person  of  considerable  importance,  and  it  is  probable 

that  if  such  a  thing  had  occurred  we  should  have  known  it  from 
the  Roman  historians,  as  in  the  case  of  Pomponia  Groecina,  Flavius 
Clemens,  and  Flavia  Domitilla.     The  author  of  the  Acts  was  here 
29* 


342  SAINT  PAUL. 

misled  by  his  idea  of  converting  the  greatest  possible  number  of 
heathens, by  the  pleasure  of  showing  the  Roman  magistrates  favorable 
to  the  new  religion,  and  by  the  desire  of  placing  St.  Paul  forthwith  as 
apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  Elsewhere,  we  will  notice  in  the  narrator  of 
the  Acts  this  naif  sentiment  which  makes  the  man  of  the  people  proud 
of  having  been  connected  with  men  of  celebrity,  or  importance.  It 
seems  that  he  wished  to  reply  to  adversaries  who  held  that  the  Chris- 
tians were  all  people  of  low  estate,  and  little  known. 

39.  Compare  Acts  xxv.  22,  et  seq. 

40.  Compare  Rom.  xv.  19;  II.  Cor.  xii.  12. 

41.  See  Valerius  Maximus,  whole  of  book  I. 

42.  See  hereafter  the  adventure  of  Lystra,  and  Acts  xxviii.  6. 

43.  It  is  thus  that  the  Mussulmans  in  Syria  acknowledged  the  miracles  of 

the  Christians,  and  sought  to  benefit  by  them,  without,  on  that  ac- 
count, dreaming  of  themselves  becoming  Christians. 

44.  Acts  xiii.  7. 

45.  De  Viris  III.  5. 

46.  And  he  speaks  of  it,  xiii.  9. 

47.  Inscr.   in  Garrucci,  Dissert,  arch.  II.  p.    160  (Cocotio  qid  et  Juda}. 

Cf.  Orelli,  Inscr.  lat.,  No.  2522. 

48.  The  name  of  Paul  is  very  common  among  the  Cilicians.     V.   Pape. 

Wcert.  der  griech.  Eigennamen,  23d.  edit.  p.  1150. 

49.  This  transition  is  indicated  with  much  tact,  Acts  xiii.  1-13,  Gal.  ii.  I. 

9,  proves  that  Paul  himself  took  it  thus. 

50.  Acts  xiv.  12. 

51.  Acts  xiii.  13. 

52.  Acts  xiii.  13;  xv.  38-39. 

53.  The  first  time  that  we  know  of  Paul  taking  this  title  is  at  the  head  of 

the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians.  Let  us  remember  that  the  author  of  the 
Acts  avoids  giving  it  to  him  directly. 

54.  Actsix.  15;  xxvi.  17,  18. 


CHAPTER   II. 

1.  Comp.  Acts  xv.  23. 

2.  Let  it  suffice  to  recall  Apollonius  of  Perga,  Aratus,  Dio.  of  Halicar- 

nassus,  Strabo,  Epictetus,  Dious  Chrysostom,  Pausanias,  Dioscorides, 
Alexander  of  Aphrodisias,  Alexander  of  Tralles,  Soranus,  Rufus  of 
Ephesus,  Aretas,  Galian,  Phlegon  of  Tralles.  On  Pergamos,  Sardis, 
Tarsus,  Nysa,  see  Strabo  (XIII.  iv.  3,  9;  XIV.  i.  48;  v.  13-15). 

3.  At  the  present  time  the  form  of  the  houses  in  Caria,  in  Lycia,  is  more 

Archaic  than  in  any  other  place  in  the  world. 


SAINT  PAUL.  343 

4.  For  Lycaonia,  see  Acts  xiv.  1 1  (cf.  Etienne  de  Byz.  at  the  word  depflr/); 

for  Lycia,  Dio  Cassius,  XL.  17  (Sturz.  iii.  p.  759);  for  Cappa- 
docia  and  Paphlagonia,  Strabo,  XII.  iii.  25  ;  for  the  Pisidians,  and 
the  Solynia\uis,  Strabo,  XIII.  iv.  17.  The  Lydian  had  disappeared  in 
Lydia ;  Strabo,  XII.  iv.  17.  In  Mysia  and  in  Bithynia  there  was 
no  longer  anything  but  Greek  spoken :  Strabo,  XII.  iv.  6.  For 
Galatia,  see  Strabo,  XII.  v.  I.  The  passage  of  St.  Jerome,  Comni. 
in  Epist.  ad  Gal.,  i,  ii.  prol.,  is  of  little  weight.  Gallic  names  disap-* 
peared  in  Galatia  towards  the  time  of  Tiberius ;  Perrot,  De  Galatia 
prov.  rom.,  p.  88,  et  seq.  In  Phrygia,  country  people  and  slaves 
speak  only  the  Phrygian  language.  See  the  numerous  explanations 
of  words  compiled  in  the  "Arica"  of  P.  Boeticher,  and  in  the  Ge- 
sammelte  Ab!iandlungen,  by  the  same  author. 

5.  Great  progress  in  this  respect  was  made  by  Vespasian,  Henzen,  Inscr. 

/at.,  No.  6913;  Perrot,  DC  Gal.  prov.  rom.,  p.  102. 

6.  For  Inconium,  see  Corpus  inscr.  gr.,  No.  3993,  iii.  Nos.  600  a,  604, 

655,  667,  663,  669,  675,  678,  680,  685,  688,  699,  699  a,  700,  and 
the  notes  of  Waddington;  Wagencr,  Inscr.  d'As.  Min.,  p.  3,  et 
seq.  For  Laodicea  on  the  Lycus,  Waddington  Voy.  en  As.  Min.  au 
point  de  vtie  nmnismatiqnc,  p.  26,  et  seq.  For  Aphrodisias  and 
Sebastopolis,  ibid.  p.  43,  et  seq.,  54,  55.  For  Mylasia,  Le  Bas,  iii. 
Nos.  340,  et  seq.  For  the  religion  of  the  Solymceans  ;  Corpiis  inscr. 
gr.,  No.  4366  k  and  q;  Waddington  on  No.  1202  of  Le  Bas  (iii.). 
For  Lycia,  Corpus,  Nos.  4303  i  and  k;  Le  Bas,  iii.  1229.  For 
Pisidia,  Waddington,  on  Nos.  1209,  1210  of  Le  Bas  (iii.);  Voy. 
iiumismatiqiie,  p.  99,  105,  107,  140,  141.  The  two  Comanas  and 
Pessinonte  kept  all  their  sacerdotal  organization. 

7.  Lucian,  Alexander  sen  pseudjniajitis  (a  work  which  is  not  pure  ro- 

mance;  cf.  Ath'jnagoras,  Leg.,  26,  and  the  moneys  of  Abonoticus) ; 
De  morte  Peregrini  (the  same  observation ;  cf.  Athenagoras,  1.  c.  ; 
Tatian,  adv.  Grace.,  25;  Aulu-Gelle,  Noct.  att.,  xii.  u;  Philo- 
stratus,  Vies  des  Soph.t  II.  i.  33;  Eus.,  Chron.  ad  olymp.  236.) 

8.  See  his  Onirocritiques. 

9.  See  his  life,  in  the  edition  of  his  works  (Dindorf),  iii.  p.  cxvi.  236,  etc.; 

Mem.  de  r Acad.  des  Jjtscr.  (new  series),  xxvi.  ist  part,  p.  203,  et 
seq.  Galian  even,  a  mind  so  drilled,  believes  in  the  dreams  of  Escu- 
lapius  (see  the  treatise  Diagnostic  des  Maladies  par  le  inoyen  des 
songes,  and  in  several  places  in  his  writings,  Opp.  vol.  ii.  p.  29 ;  x.  971  ; 
xi.  314;  xv.  441,  et  seq.  ;  xvii.  214,  et  seq.,).  Strabo,  so  prudent, 
believes  in  the  wonders  of  the  temples  (XIII.  iv.  14,  for  example). 

10.  Lucian,  Alexander  seu  pseudom.,  §  25,  44,  47. 

11.  Recall  the  cataphryges,  the  montanisme,  Priscilla  de  Pepuze. 

12.  For  example,  in  the  two  Comanas,  at  Pessinonte,  at  Olba,  cf.  Strabo, 

XII.  ii.  5,  6;  Waddington,  Mel.  de  num.,  2d  scries,  p.  121,  et  seq. 


344  SAINT  PAUL. 

13.  Tac.,  Ann.,  iv.  55,  56;  Dio  Cassius,  xli.  20;  inscription  to  the  divinity 

of  Nero  while  living,  Corf,  inscr.  gr.,  No.  2942  </(suppl.),  Comp. 
Le  Bas,  iii.  1480;  Waddington,  Mel  de  num.,  2d  series,  p.  133,  et 
seq.  ;  the  same,  Voy.  en  Asie  Min.  au  point  de  vue  numism.,  p. 
6,  9,  10,  33,  34,  35,  36,  75,  149,  150.  The  inscriptions  in  honor  of 
the  Roman  functionaries  are  numerous.  See  especially  Corp.  inscr. 
gr.,  Nos.  3524,  3532,  3548. 

14.  $ik.o%a.ib(x.p  Corp.  inscr.  gr.,  Nos.  2748,  2975,  etc. 

15.  ^Elius  Aristides,  oral.  XLII.  edit.  Dindorf ;  Wagner  Inscr.  d'As.  Min. 

p.  36,  et  seq.;  Waddington,  in  the  Mem.  de  fAcad.  des  Inscr. ,  vol. 
xxvi.  ist  part,  p.  252,  et  seq. 

1 6.  Testament  of  Attalus,  inscription  of  Ancyra,  etc. 

17.  Especially  of  P.   Servilius,  of  Pompey.  of  Quirinius.  Strabo.  XII.  vi. 

5;  XIV.  iii.  3;  V.  2.  7;  inscription  of  Quirinius,  in  Mommsen,  Res 
gestce  divi  Aug.,  p.  118,  et  seq.;  Cicero,  letters  from  Cilicia;  Taci- 
tus, Ann.,  iii.  48;  vi,  41;  xii.  55. 

1 8.  In    Paphlagonia,  for  instance,  note   Germanicopolis,  Neoclandiopolis, 

Pompeiopolis,  Adrianopolis,  Antinoopolis. 

19.  Dion  Cassius,  ix.  17. 

20.  See  p.  67,  cf.,  Le  Bas,  Inscr.,  iii.  Nos.  848,  857,  859,  1385  bis.,  and 

the  notes  of  Waddington. 

21.  Jos.  Ant.,  XIV.  x.  22,  23;   Strabo,  XVII.  iii.  24;  Tacitus,  Ann., 

iv.  55- 

22.  ^SEfiatirrj  Uporoia  (Le  Bas,  Inscr.,  iii.  858)  compare  the  coins  and 

Le  Bas,  iii.  1245.  This  formula,  besides,  does  not  belong  to  Asia 
Minor,  cf.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.,  No.  313. 

23.  Eckhel,  D.  n.  v.  vi.  p.  101;  Tacitus,  Ann.,  iv.  37,  55,  56;  vi.  15.    Dion 

Cassius,  LI.  20;  Corpus  inscr.  gr.,  Nos.  3524,  3990  c,  4016,  4017, 
4031,  4238,  4240  d,  4247,  4266,  4363,  4379,  c,  e,  f,  h,  i,  k ;  Le  Bas, 
Inscr.  iii..  Nos.  621,  627,  857-859,  1611;  Waddington,  Explic.  des 
Inscr.  of  Le  Bas,  p.  207,  208,  238,  239,  376;  Perrot  ,De  Gal.  prov. 
rom.,  p.  129.  At  Rome,  there  was  no  temple  of  this  kind.  They 
made  a  difference  between  Italy  and  the  provinces  for  the  worship  of 
the  Emperor. 

24.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.,  2943,  4366  b. 

25.  Comp.  Tac.,  Ann.,  iv.  55,  56. 

26.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.,  No.  3461;  Dio  Chrys.,  Or  at.,  xxxv.  p.  497  (Em- 

perius);  Mionnet,  Phrygia,  suppl.,  vii.,  p.  564;  Le  Bas,  Inscr. ,  iii. 
No.  626,  653,  885,  and  the  explanations  of  Waddington ;  Perrot, 
op.cit.,  p.  129,  150,  et  seq.;  Expl.  de  la  Gal.,  p.  199,  et  seq. 

27.  August eum  of  Ancyra  and  Apollonius  of  Pisidia.    There  were  analogues 

of  them  in  Pergamus,  in  Nicomedia,  and  doubtless  in  other  cities. 
They  knew  nothing  of  them,  outside  of  Asia  Minor. 

28.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.t  No.  4085.    Cf.  Perrot,  De  Gal.  prov.  rom.,  p.  75. 


SAINT  PAUL.  345 

29.  Nineveh. 

30.  Tacitus,  Ann.,  iii.  62;   Corp.  inscr.  gr.,  No.  2748. 

31.  Perrot,  Exploration  de  la  Gal.,  p.  31,  32,  124.     Le  Bas,  Nos.  1021, 

1033,  1034  a,  1039,  1042,  1044,  1137,  1205,  1205,  1219,  1227,  1245, 
1253,  1254. 

32.  Pieces  quoted  by  Joseph.,  Ant.  XIV.  x.  n,  et  seq.;  XVI.  vi.  2  (sus- 

pected), 4,  6,  7,  and  which  have  here  their  convincing  power,  indepen- 
dently of  their  authenticity;  Cic.,  Pro.  Flacco,  28,  Philo.  Leg.  ad 
Cainm,  §36,  40;  Acts  ii.  9,  10;  I.  Petri,  i.  i. 

33.  Strabo,  XIV.  iv.  2;  Pomp.  Mela.,  i.   14;  Texier,  Asie  Min.,  p.  709. 

34.  There  remain  beautiful  ruins  of  them.     See  Ritter,  Erdkunde,  xix.  p. 

585,  et  seq.,  Descr.,  iii.  p.  211,  et  seq.,  and  Arch.  byz.,  p.  31,  et  seq. 

35.  Scylax,  Peripl.,  100;  Strabo,  1.  c. ;  Callimacus,  Hymne  d  Artemis ;  v. 

187;  Cicero,  In  Verr.,  II.  i.  20;  Waddington,  Voy.  en  Asie  Mi- 
neure  au  point  de  vue  numismatique,  p.  92,  et  seq.,  142;  Corp. 
inscr.  gr.,  No.  4342;  Le  Bas,  Inscr.,  iii.  1373. 

36.  Waddington,  1.  c.;  et  Mel.  de  Num.  et  de  Phil.,  p.  57. 

37.  Waddington,  Mel.  de  Num.  et  de  Phil. ,  p.  58. 

38.  See  the  strange  form  of  these  proper  names,   Corp.  inscr.  gr.,  Nos. 

4401,  et  seq. 

39.  Acts  xiii.  13;  xv.  38,  39. 

40.  Texier,  Asie  Mineure,  p.   713,  et  seq.;  Waddington,  Voy.  Num.,  p. 

99,  100. 

41.  Cicero,  letters  from  his  proconsulate  of  Cilicia.     Cf.  Dion  Cassius,  Ix. 

17.  The  Homonadea  inhabited  these  latitudes,  Strabo,  XII.  vi.  vii. 
51;  XIV.  v.  i,  24.  See  p.  60  and  p.  67.  The  principal  site,  how- 
ever, seemed  to  be  further  east. 

42.  See  Laborde,  Voy.  de  la  Syrie,  p.  107,  et  seq.,  pi.,  xxx.,  lix.,  Ix.,  IxL, 

Ixii.;  W.  J.  Hamilton,  "Researches  in  Asia  Minor;"  i.  477,  et  seq. 
Ritter,  Erdkunde,  xix.  p.  477,  et  seq.  Conybeare  and  Howson,  the 
Life  of  St.  Paul,  L  p.  175,  et  seq.  Cf.  Pliny,  v.  23.  .' 

43.  Acts  xiii.  43,  50. 

44.  Acts  xiv.  1-5. 

45.  Acts  xiii.  44;  xiv.  i. 

46.  Acts  xv.  I,  3. 

47.  In  fact,  this  city  was  situated  in  Phrygia  (Strabo,  XII.  vii.  14).     It  had 

such  traditions  (Waddington,  on  No.  668  of  the  third  volume  of 
the  Inscriptions  of  Le  Bas). 

48.  Considerable  ruins  near  the  town  of  Jalovatch,  Arundell,  Discoveries 

in  Asia  Minor,  i.  265,  et  seq.  W.  J.  Hamilton,  Researches  in  Asia 
Minor,  L,  p.  474,  et  seq.  Laborde,  Voy.  de  I* Asie  Mineure,  p. 
113,  et  seq.,  pi.  xxx.,  Ixii. 

49.  This  is  proved  by  its  coins. 


346  SAINT  PAUL. 

50.  Strabo,  XII.  viii.   14;  Pliny,  v.  24;  Etienne  de  Byz.,  at  this  word; 

Eckhel,  iii.  p.  18,  19;  Corp.  inscr.  gr.,  Nos.  1586,  2811  b;  Digest, 
L.  xv.  8.  Cf.  Ann.  del  Instit.  archeol.  de  Rome,  xix.  p.  147. 
The  Latin  inscriptions  are  numerous  (Le  Bas,  and  Waddington, 
Inscr.  iii.  Nos.  1189-1891,  1815,  et  seq.)  The  coins  are  Latin. 

51.  Strabo,  XII.  vii.  14  (comp.  XII.  iii.  31);  Hamilton,  1.  c.,  Cf.     Wad- 

dington,  Expl.  des  Inscript.  of  Le  Bas,  iii.  p.  215,  216.  The 
medals  prove,  however,  that  the  religion  of  Antioch  lasted  till  the 
time  of  Gordian. 

52.  Paul  himself  was  conscious  of  having  changed  in  this  respect,  II.  Cor. 

v.  16;  Gal.  v.  n;  Phil.  iii.  13;  Eph.  iv.  13,  14;  I.  Cor.  ii.  entire; 
iii.  i;  ix.  20. 

53.  Corp.  inscr.  gr. ,  No.  3980.    This  formula  is  peculiar  to  Phrygia.   Comp. 

p.  319 ;  comp.  also,  for  the  contrast  with  Pisidia,  No.  4380  r,  s,  t. 
See  Le  Bas,  iii.  No.  1231. 

54.  Acts  xiii.  14,  etseq.;  II.  Tim.  iii.  n. 

55.  Acts  xiii.  51,  cf.;  Matt.  x.  14;  Mark  vi.  u;  Luke  ix.  5;  Acts  xviii.  6. 

56.  Laborde,  Voy.  de  l^Asie  Min.  p.  115,  et  seq.,  Sperling,  in  the  Zeit- 

schrift  fur  allgemeime  Erdkunde,  1864,  p.  10,  et  seq. 

57.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.,  Nos.  3993,  4385. 

58.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.,  Nos.  3995  b,  4389. 

59.  Note  the  barbarous  form  of  the  proper  names,  Corp.  inscr.  gr.,  No. 

3987,  et  seq. 

60.  Miiller,  Fragm.  hist,  gr.,  iii.  p.  524.     Compare  the  medals  of  Apamee 

Kibotos,  with  the  biblical  myths  of  Noah  and  Enoch. 

61.  Strabo,  XII.  vi.  i. 

62.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.,  Nos.  3991,  3993  (see  the  addenda);  Le  Bas,  iii.  1385 

bis.  Eckhel,  D,  n,  v.  iii.  31-33,  Iconium  (Konieh)  still  of  importance. 

63.  On  the  existence  of  the  Jews  in  these  parts  of  Asia,  see  Corp.  inscr.  gr. , 

4129,  and  perhaps  4087  (corrected  by  Perrot,  Exploration  de  la  Ga- 
latie,  p.  207,  et  seq.);  Acts  xvi.  3;  I.  Peter  i.  j;  the  epistle  to  the 
Galatians,  supposing  the  Jews  among  the  converted;  ii.  15;  iii.  2,  7, 
8,  13,  23,  24,  28;  iv.  3,  21,  31. 

64.  Acts  xiv.  3. 

65.  Tertullian,  De  Baptismo,  17. 

66.  See  Acta  apost.  apocr.,  de  Tischendorf,  p.  40,  et  seq. 

67.  Sperling,  in  the  journal  cited,  p.  23,  24. 

68.  Gal.  ii.  15;  iii.  2,  7,  8,  13,  23,  24,  28;  iv.  3,  21. 

69.  Gal.  iv.  8;  v.  2;  vi.  12.     On  the  application  here  made  of  the  epistle  to 

the  Galatians,  see  p.  48-51. 

70.  Gal.  v.  21. 

71.  Gal.  iii.  2-5. 

72.  Acts  xiv.,  et  seq.;  II.  Tim.  iii.  ii. 


SAINT  PAUL.      .  347 

73.  "Montagne  noire."     The  ancient  name  is  unknown. 

74.  Strabo,  XII.  vi.  i;  Hamilton,  Res.,  ii.  310,  et  seq.;  Laborde,  Voy.  de 

VAsie  A/in.,  p.  19,  et  seq.  122;  Texier,  Asie  Min.,  p.  651,  et  seq.; 
Conybeare  and  Howson,  i.  p.  199,  et  seq. 

75.  Lystra  is  probably  Madenscher  or  Binbir-kilisse,  in  the  Karadagh  (Hamil- 

ton, ii.  316,  et  seq.,  and  its  inscription  No.  423;  com.  Laborde,  p. 
1 20,  et  seq.;  Conybeare  and  Howson,  i.  p.  200,  et  seq.,  211,  212, 
281,  et.  seq.;  see,  however,  Texier,  Descr.  de  TAsie  Min.,  132,  133.). 
We  must  not  confound  Lystra  with  Illistra,  now  Ilisra  (Synecdeme 
d'Hieroclcs,  p.  675,  Wesseling;  Notifies  episcop.,  p.  70,  115,  175, 
158,  177,  193,  194,  212,  213,  254,  255,  Parthney;  Bolotoff  and 
Kiepert's  charts,  after  Tchihatchef;  Texier,  1.  c.  ;  Hamilton,  ii. 
325).  Derbe  may  be  Divle,  in  a  valley  at  the  base  of  the  Taurus, 
position  confirmed  by  Strabo,  c  XII.  vi.  2  and  3)  and  by  Eticnne  de 
Byzance  (at  the  word  depfirj  ).  Cf.  Texier,  Asie  Min.,  p.  658, 
Divle,  in  fact,  has  furnished  two  inscriptions  (Corpus  inscr.  gr., 
4009  c-,  4009  c3 ;  Le  Bas,  iii,  1807,  1808).  However,  as  Etlenne 
de  Byzance  places  near  Derbe  a  hijuiyy  (read  Xijuvtj).  We  can  also 
identify  Derbe  with  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  city  that  Hamilton  found 
near  lake  Ak-Ghieul  (see  Kiepert's  map  of  Asia  Minor ;  Hamilton, 
ii.  p.  313,  319,  et  seq.,  and  its  inscription,  No.  421).  So  that  Lystra 
and  Derbe  would  be  about  eight  leagues  apart  and  in  the  same  geo- 
graphical canton.  The  manner  in  which  these  two  cities  are  usually 
coupled  (Acts  xiv.  6;  xvi.  i)  proves  that  they  were  neighbors.  At 
all  events,  the  position  of  the  two  localities  is  determined  by  Acts  xiv. 
21 ;  xvi.  i,  2,  and  we  can  only  hesitate  for  them  between  the  different 
traces  of  cities  which  mark  the  route  from  Karadagh  to  the  Ak- 
Ghieul.  Derbe  was  considered  by  ancient  geographers  as  part  of 
Isauria.  The  boundaries  of  Isauria  and  Lycaonia  were  very  indefinite 
at  the  Roman  epoch.  Cf.  Strabo,  xii.  vi.  21;  Pliny,  v.  23,  25. 

76.  The  Isaurians,  the  Clites,  the  Homonades,  Strabo,  XII.  vi.  2-5;  Taci- 

tus, Ann.,  iii.  48;  vi.  41;  xii.  55.  The  Isaurians  kept  their  place 
until  the  middle  age.  They  were  never  quite  subdued,  except  by  the 
Sedjoukides,  Trebellius  Pollion,  the  thirty  tyrants,  25 ;  Vopiscus, 
Probus,  19;  Ammian,  Marcellin.,  xiv.  2;  xxvii.  9;  John  Chrysostom, 
Epist.  p.  522,  570,  593,  596,  et  seq.;  599,  606,  630,  631,  633,  et 
seq.;  656,  661,  673,  676,679,  682,  683,  708  (edit.  Montfaucon). 

77.  This  is  the  impression  of  Cicero,  who  encamped  fifteen  days  near  Derbe. 

He  speaks  of  this  whole  country  with  profound  disdain  (Letters  ad 
Fam.  and  ad  Att.,  dated  from  Cilicia). 

78.  Acts  xiv.  n;  Etienne  de  Byz.,  at  the  word  Afpfir]  or  A?.\fit.ia. 

79.  Results  from  Acts  xiv.  19  (Greek  text).     There  were  some,  however, 

Acts  xvi.  3. 


348  SAINT  PAUL. 

80.  Claudiopolis-Mount  on  the  Calycadnus  (Hierocles,  Smynecdee,  p.  709, 

Wess;  Notitice  episc.,  p.  85,  129,  224,  edit.  Parthey);  Claudiconium, 
etc.,  Le  Bas,  iii.  1385  bis. 

8 1.  From  Iconia  to    Lystra  (if  Lystra  is  Madenscher),  the  route  is  thir- 

teen hours,  Laborde,  p.  119. 

82.  Eunape,   Vies  des  Sophistes,  p.  454,  500  (  edit.  Didot). 

83.  Ovid,  Metam.,  iii.  621-726. 

84.  Zeve  XpoTtvhoS.     Cf.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.,  No.  2963  c. 

85.  nvXttvaS  can  scarcely  refer  to  anything  but  the  temple.     A%ov- 

darreZ,  supposes  also  that  the  scene  occurred  far  from  where  Paul 
was.  Finally,  the  idea  of  coming  to  make  a  sacrifice  at  the  door  of 
Paul's  house  is  exaggerated,  and  contrary  to  ancient  customs.  We 
know  that  sacrifices  were  made  before  the  Temple  and  not  within. 

86.  Acts  xiv.  15-17. 

87.  This  feminine  name  is  found  at  Cyprus,  v.  Pape,  S.  h.  v. 

88.  II.  Tim.  i.  5.  III.  15.     This  epistle  is  apocryphal,  but  it  is  not  probable 

that  the  names  of  these  two  women  were  invented. 

89.  Acts  xvi.  i.     See  p.  76. 

90.  Acts  xvi.  3. 

91.  Acts  xiv.  6,  et  seq.;  II.  Tim.  iii.  n.     Comp.  II.  Cor.  xi.  25. 

92.  See  Perrot,  De  Gal.  prov.  rom.,  p.  33,  et  seq.;  Explor.  de  la  Gal.,  p. 

194,  et  seq.;  Waddington,  Explic.  des  Inscr.  of  Le  Bas,  iii.,  p.  337, 
349;  Robiou,  Hist,  des  Gaulois  d' Orient,  p.  259,  et  seq.,  and  the 
chart. 

93.  Appian,  Bell.  civ.  v.  75. 

94.  Dion  Cassius  xlix.  32. 

95.  Dion  Cassius  LI.  2. 

96.  Strabo  XII.  v.  4;  vi.  i,  3,  4;  vii.  3;  XIV.  v.  6. 

97.  Strabo  XII.  v.  i;  vi.  5;  vii.  3,  XVIII.  iii.  25;  Dion  Cassius  LIII.  26. 

98.  Strabo  XIV.  v.  6. 

99.  Dion  Cassius  LIII.  26. 

100.  Dion  Cassius  LIII.  26;  Cf.  Pliny,  H.  N.  V.  25,  42.- 

101.  Strabo  XII.  vi.  5,  Cf.  Mommsen,  Res  gestce  divi.  Attg.  p.  vii. 

102.  Pliny  v.  23;  Le  Bas  Inscr.  III.  1385  bis,  and  the  note  of  Wadding- 

ton.  It  was  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Amyntas ;  but  after  the  death  of 
Amyntas,  it  was  neither  made  free  nor  united  to  any  other  province. 

103.  Henzen,  No.  6912.     Cf.  Perrot,  De  Gal.  prov.  rom.  p.  39,  et  seq., 

46,  et  seq.;  Mommsen,  Res  gesta  divi.  Aug.  p.  vii.  For  Apollonia, 
however,  see  Le  Bas  iii.  No.  1192. 

104.  Thus  the  city  of  Iconium  honors  as  its  benefactor  a  procurator  of 

Galatia  (Corp.  inscr.  gr.,  No.  3991).  Cf.  Le  Bas  iii.  1385  bis. 
Pliny  (H.  N.  V.  42)  indicates  the  Lystreni  among  the  populations  of 
Galatia.  What  he  says  of  the  borders  of  Galatia  (v.  25  and  42)  is 


SAINT  PAUL.  349 

confused,  but  does  not  essentially  contradict  our  thesis.  Ptolemy 
(V.  iv.  I,  10,  n,)understandsGalatiaasStrabo,  Cf.  Henzen,  No.  6940; 
Le  Bas  iii.  1798;  Capitolin,  Maxiniin  ct  B  alb  in,  7;  I.  Pctri.  i.  i, 
the  inscriptions  which,  like  those  of  Henzen  6912,  6913  ;  Marini,  Atti, 
p.  766;  Le  Bas  iii.  176,  627,  1816;  Perrot  De  Gal.  p.  102,  enume- 
rate with  Galatia  its  annexed  provinces,  prove  only  that  the  old  names 
still  existed.  Besides,  these  agglomerations  of  provinces  often  varied, 
especially  on  the  part  of  Vespasian.  Cf.  Le  Bas  and  Waddington  iii. 
1480;  Perrot,  De  Gal.,  p.  134-136. 

105.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  4011,  4020,  4030,  4032,  5896;  Henzen,  6912,  6013; 

Marini,  Atti,  p.  766;  Perrot,  De  Gal.  p.  102 ;  Eckhel,  D.  n.  v.  III. 
177,  178. 

106.  Strabo  XII.  iv.  6;  XVII.  iii.  25.     The  same  policy  is  plain  in  Gaul. 

But  below  the  province,  where  the  boundary  is  uncertain,  the  old 
divisions  of  the  canton  and  the  city  are  preserved. 

107.  Asia,  Macedonia,  Acha'ia  denoted  for  him  the  provinces  of  these  names, 

and  not  the  countries  formerly  so  called. 

108.  This  explains  that  unique  peculiarity  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians, 

that  it  is  not  addressed  to  any  particular  church.  It  also  explains  one 
of  the  noticeable  peculiarities  in  St.  Paul's  life.  The  Epistle  to  the 
Galatians  supposes  that  Paul  had  made  a  long  sojourn  among  those  to 
whom  this  Ittter  is  addressed, — that  his  connection  with  them  was 
intimate,  at  least  as  much  so  as  with  the  Corinthians  and  Thessalo- 
nians.  But  Acts  makes  no  mention  of  the  evangelization  of  Galatia 
strictly  speaking.  In  his  second  voyage,  Paul  traverses  "  the  region  of 
Galatia  "  (Acts  xvi.  6).  We  see  that  we  can  suppose  at  this  time  but 
a  very  short  delay.  It  is  in  no  wise  probable  that  the  profound  evan- 
gelization, which  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  assumes,  took  place  in 
so  rapid  a  voyage.  On  the  contrary,  what  strikes  us  in  the  first 
mission  is  its  long  duration,  compared  with  the  little  that  was  done, 
and  with  results  which  would  have  been  unimportant,  if  the  founding 
of  the  churches  of  Galatia  had  not  been  added  to  them.  In  placing 
here  the  evangelization  of  the  Galatians,  we  give  a  sort  of  weight 
necessary  to  the  equilibrium  of  the  life  of  St.  Paul  Comparing  Acts 
xvi.  6  with  Acts  xviii.  23,  we  are  satisfied  that  for  the  author  of  the 
Acts,  TaXoLTiKrj  x°°Pa  signifies  the  Roman  province  of  Galatia,  and 
that  the  part  he  wishes  to  designate  at  these  two  places  is  Lycaonia. 
Do  not  object  that  in  relating,  in  the  fourteenth  chapter,  the  evange- 
lization of  Iconium,  Lystra,  and  Derbe,  the  author  of  the  Acts  does 
not  use  the  name  of  Galatia.  He  proceeds  there  in  detail ;  while  in 
Acts  xvi.  6;  xviii.  23,  he  speaks  in  general  terms.  The  proof  is  that  in 
one  case  he  changes  the  order  of  $pvyia  and  of  Fa^arix^  x <&poi. 
According  to  the  idea  of  the  author  of  the  Acts,  these  two  voyages 
30 


350  SAINT  PAUL. 

through  Asia  Minor  are  voyages  of  confirmation,  and  not  conversion 
(Acts  xv.  36,  41;  xvi.  5,  6;  xviii.  23).  Finally,  in  one  of  these  voyages, 
the  object  of  St.  Paul  being  Troas,  and  in  the  other  Ephesus,  the  itine- 
rary of  Acts  xvi.  6  and  of  Acts  xviii.  23  is  inconceivable  if  Fa\a- 
Tinrj  X^Pa  is  Galatia  proper.  Why  this  strange  turning  aside  to- 
wards the  north,  particularly  if  we  consider  how  difficult  the  central 
steppe  is  to  traverse  ?  There  was  probably  at  that  epoch  no  route  from 
Iconium  to  Ancyra  (Perrot  De  Gal.,  p.  102,  103).  How  improbable 
it  is  also,  that  the  Hierosolymite  emissaries  (Gal.  i.  7)  should  have 
made  such  a  journey.  Let  us  add,  that  the  mention  of  Barnabas  in1 
the  epistle  to  the  Galatians  leads  to  the  belief  that  the  Galatians 
knew  him ;  which  reconveys  the  evangelization  of  the  Galatians  to 
the  first  mission. 

109.  Gal.  iv.  14,  15,  etc. 

HO.   Gal.  iv.  13,  14. 

in.   Gal.  iii.  4. 

112.  Acts  xvi.  i,  2;  xx.  4. 

113.  Acts  xiv.  25.    There  were  Jews  in  Pamphylia,  Philo.,  Leg.  ad  Caium, 

%  36  ;  Acts  ii.  10. 

114.  Now  Adalia. 


CHAPTER   III. 

1.  Jean  Malala,  p.  242  (edit,  of  Bonn).     See  Les  Apotres,  p.  226,  227. 

2.  Acts  xiv.  27,  28. 

3.  II.  Cor.  vii.  23. 

4.  Gal.  ii.  i,  3 ;  Tit.  i.  4. 

5.  Acts  v.  34;  xv.  5;  xxi.  20;  xxiii.  9,  et  seq. 

6.  Acts  iv.  5,  6 ;  xxiii.  6,  et  seq. 

7.  We  feel  that  it  is  the  opinion  of  Josephus  (Ant.  XX.  ii.  5 ;  Vita,  23) 

and  of  the  Jew  of  whom  Strabo  tells  us,  XVI.  ii.  35-37. 

8.  Talm.  de  Bab.,  ^chabbath,  31  a. 

9.  Jos.  Ant.  XX.  ii.  5.     See  Les  Apotres,  p.  256. 

10.  Jos.   Ant.   XVI.   vii.   6;  XX.  vii.  i,   3.     Cf.  Masseket  Gerim,  edit. 

Kirchheim,  c.  i. 

11.  Suetonius,  Domitian,  12. 

12.  See  p.  192,  200,  201. 

13.  Josephus  Vita,  23. 

14.  See  Acts  x.  13-15. 

15.  Jacob  Bernays  Ueber  das  phokylideische  Gedicht,  Berlin,  1856. 

1 6.  Among  the  works  of  Josephus. 


SAINT  PAUL.  351 

17.  Pirke  Aboth.  i.  12;  Talm.  of  Bab.,  Schabbath,  31  a. 

1 8.  Carmina  Sibyll.  III.  213,  et  seq.     Cf.  Strabo  XVI.  ii.  35-37.     It  is 

remarkable  that  the  Pseudo-Phocylides,  the  Pseudo-Heraclitus,  the 
false  sibyl,  do  not  hesitate  sometimes  to  use  heathen  expressions. 

19.  Tac.  Hist.  V.  5.     Cf.  Strabo  XVI.  ii.  37. 

20.  Notice  the  atrocious  punishment  which  they  pretended  was  inflicted  on 

Apion  because  he  mocked  at  the  circumcision.   Josephus,  Contra  Ap. 

II.  13- 

21.  I.  Macch.  i.  15;  I.  Cor.  vii.  18;  Jos.  Ant.  XII.  v.  i;  Martial  VII.  xxix. 

(xxx.)  5;  Talm.  of  Bab.,  Jebamoth,  72  a;  Talm.  of  Jer.,  Jcbamoth^ 
viii.  i;  Buxtorf.  Lex.  chald.  talm.  rabb.  at  the  word  "T^fa* 

22.  De  medic.  VII.  25.   Cf.  Dioscorides  iv.  157;  Epiphanes,  De  mensuris  et 

ponder  ibus,  1 6. 

23.  Josephus  B.   J.    II.   xx.    2.      Cf.    Derenbourg,   Palestine  d'apres  Ics 

Thalmuds,  I.  p.  223,  notes,  and  in  Forschnngen  der  wisstalm.  Ve- 
reins,  No.  14,  1867  (Beilage  zu  Ben  Chananja,  No.  6)  p.  190;  Acts 
xiii.  50;  xvL  i. 

24.  Gen.  xxxiv.  14,  et  seq.;  Ex.  xxxiv.  16;  Num.  xxv.;  Deut.  viL  3,  et  seq.; 

I  Kings  xi.  i,  et  seq. ;  Esdras  x;  Nehe.  xiii.  23,  et  seq. ;  Talm.  of 
Jer.  Megilla  iv.  10. 

25.  Mischna  Sanhedrin,  ix.  6.     Cf.  Numbers  xxv.  13. 

26.  Comp.  I.  Cor.  vii. 

27.  I.  Cor.  x.  25,  et  seq. ;  Tac.  Hist.  v.  5. 

28.  Philo,  Leg.  ad  Caium  §  45;  Strabo  XVI.  ii.  37. 

29.  Ex.  xxxiv.  15;  Mischna  Aboda  zara  ii.  3. 

30.  Theophrastes  Caract.  ix;  Servius  a d sEneid.  VIII.  183. 

31.  I.  Cor.  viii.  4,  et  seq.;  x.  25,  et  seq. 

32.  I  will  quote  the  example  of  the  metualis  of  Syria,  reduced  to  the  darkest 

fanaticism  by  the  obligation  they  are  under  to  break  all  their  vessels 
and  to  overthrow  their  houses  as  soon  as  a  Christian  has  touched 
them. 

33.  That  seems  to  result  from  II.  Cor.  v.   16;  Gal.  v.  n,  observing  the 

force  of  en. 

34.  Acts  xv.  5;  xxi.  20. 

35.  Acts  xv.  24.     The  care  with  which  they  insist  upon  this  point  proves 

that  at  least  they  were  strongly  suspected  of  having  one. 

36.  Acts  xv.  i,  2. 

37.  Gal.  ii.  i.     It  seems  more  natural  to  say  "fourteen"  years.     But  if  we 

do  not  count  the  fourteen  years  to  date  from  the  time  of  the  conver- 
sion (cf.  ibid.  i.  17,  1 8),  we  fall  into  almost  insurmountable  chrono- 
logical difficulties. 

38.  Comp.  Acts  xxvi.  16,  etc. 

39.  GaL  ii.  y. 


352  SAINT  PAUL. 

40.  Gal.  ii.  1-3. 

41.  Now  Lattakie. 

42.  Acts  xv.  2,  22,  23 ;  xxi.  18. 

43.  Acts  xv.  4,  22. 

44.  Acts  xv.  22. 

45.  Gal.  ii.  9;  Clem.  Rom.  Epist.  I.  ad  Cor.  5. 

46.  It  is  possible  this  name  was  given  him  after  his  death,  by  allusion  to 

Isaiah  iii.  10,  as  presented  by  the  Septuagint,  and  to  his  name  of 
Obliam.  Hegesippus  indicates  the  comparison,  and,  putting  in  close 
connection  his  names  of  AinaioS  and  of  ClfiXiaS,  adds  GJ£  oi 
rtpogjfjrai  dr?hovtii  itepi  avrov. 

47.  Jos.  Ant.  XX.  ix.  i. 

48.  This  seems  to  contradict  I.  Cor.  ix.  5,  and  shows  that  this  picture  pre- 

served by  Hegesippus,  and  by  Saint  Epiphanus,  is  in  part  composed 
of  traits  a  priori. 

49.  Hegesippus  in  Eusebius,  Hist.  Eccl.  II.  23;  Eusebius  H.  E.  II.  i;  Epiph., 

Haer.  IxxxiiL  7,  13,  14;  Saint  Jerome  De  viris  ill.  2;  Comm.  in  Gal. 
i.  19;  Adv.  Jovin.  I.  Col.  182  (Martianay) ;  Pseudo-Abdias,  Hist. 
Apost.  vi.  5.  Cf.  the  gospel  of  the  Nazarenes  in  St.  Jerome,  De 
viris  illustr.  2.  We  perceive  in  these  curious  passages  the  echo,  and 
often  textual  extracts  of  a  Judean-Christian  legend,  seeking  to  ex- 
aggerate the  role  of  James,  and  to  transform  him  into  a  great  Jewish 
priest.  Besides,  the  passage  Acts  xxi.  23,  et  seq.,  shows  James's  taste 
for  vows  and  exterior  ceremonies.  The  epistle  which  is  attributed  to 
him  shows  also  a  certain  ascetic  character. 

50.  Daniel  i.  8,  12;  Tobias  i.  12,  et  seq.;  Josephus  Vita.  2,  3.     See  espe- 

cially that  which  relates  to  the  "Essenes"  and  "Therapeutics,"  in 
Philo  and  Josephus,  and  the  reflections  of  Eusebius  on  the  subject, 
Hist.  Eccl.  ii.  17. 

51.  Epiph.,  Hser.  xxx.  15,  16;  Homil.  pseudo-clem.  viii.  15;  xii.  I,  6;  xiv. 

i;  xv.  6.     Cf.  Rom.  ch.  xiv.;  Clement  of  Alexandria  Pcedag.  ii.  i. 

52.  Talm.  of  Jer.  Nazir.  i.  6. 

53.  Mischna  Nazir.  iii.  6.;  vi.  n;  Jos.  B.  J.  II.  xv.  i. 

54.  Epiph.,  Hser.  Ixxviil  14. 

55.  Or  perhaps  "bond  of  the  people"  (52  jHlT)    It  is  possible  thistitleex- 

pressed  originally  his  place  in  Christian  society.  Then  the  Judean- 
Christian  legend  may  have  lent  James  a  role  altogether  in  the  Jewish 
nation. 

56.  Hegesippus  loc.  cit.\  Epiph.,  Hser.  Ixxviii.  14. 

57.  Hegesippus  loc.  cit.  Josephus,  Ant.  XX.  ix.  i,  a  passage  which  seems 

well  authenticated.  What  Origen  adds  to  it  (comm.  in  Matt.  vol.  X. 
§  17,  and  Contre  Celse  I.  §  47;  II.  §i  3),  Eusebius  (H.  Eyi.  23; 
Dem.  ev.  iii.  23),  Saint  Jerome  De  viris  ilhistr.  2;  Adv.  Jovin.  1.  c.) 
on  the  contrary,  is  an  error  of  Origen,  or  an  interpolation. 


SAINT  PAUL.  353 

58.  See  "The  Life  of  Jesus." 

59.  Gal.  ii.  6. 

60.  Jude  i,  and  all  the  epistle.     Cf.  Matt.  xiii.  55;  Mark  vl  3. 

61.  The  history  of  this  episode  is  known  to  us  by  two  recitals,  Acts  xv.  and 

Gal.  ii.  These  two  recitals  offer  very  grave  differences.  Naturally, 
for  the  correctness  of  material  facts,  that  of  Paul  is  to  be  preferred. 
The  author  of  the  Acts  writes  under  a  sudden,  strong,  political  preju- 
dice. He  is,  in  doctrine,  of  the  party  favorable  to  the  heathens ; 
but  in  the  question  of  persons  he  is  much  milder  than  Paul.  He 
wished  to  efface  all  trace  of  the  dissensions  which  existed  ;  finally,  he 
wished  to  give  a  foundation  to  the  theory  which  tended  to  prevail  over 
power  of  the  church-party.  Thus  he  lends  to  the  interview  an  air  of  coun- 
cil, which  it  had  not  at  this  stage,  and  to  Paul  a  docility  against  which 
he  protests  (Comp.  Acts  xv.  41,  xvi.  4,  with  Gal.  ch.  i.  and  ii.).  On 
the  other  hand,  Paul  is  pre-occupied  with  two  fixed  ideas :  in  the 
first  place,  to  keep  the  authority  of  the  heathen  churches  out  of  the 
contest ;  secondly,  "to  establish  that  he  had  neither  received  nor  learned 
anything  of  the  apostles.  But  the  single  fact  of  having  come  to  Jeru- 
salem was  a  recognition  of  the  authority  of  the  church  of  Jerusalem. 
The  two  recitals  require  to  be  combined,  modified,  and  reconciled. 

62.  Acts  xv.  4,  14-18. 

63.  Gal.  i.  23,  24. 

64.  Acts  xv.  7,  et  seq. 

65.  Acts  xv.  12. 

66.  Gal.  ii.  2,  et  seq.   Paul's  recital  does  not  exclude  the  possibility  of  assem- 

blies, but  it  excludes  the  idea  that  the  matter  was  principally  discussed 
in  an  assembly,  or  settled  by  an  assembly. 

67.  Gal.  ii.  7-9;  II.  Cor.  x.  13-16;  Rom.  xi.  13;  xv.  14-16. 

68.  Actsxxi.,i8,  et  seq.;  Gal.  ii.  12. 

69.  Hegesippus  in  Eus.  H.  E.  ii.  23. 

70.  These  are  doubtless  the  itapziGauToi  i{>evdd8EA.tpoi  of  Gal.  ii.  4. 

71.  The  Acts  assert  the  contrary.     But  Gal.  ii.  12  proves  that  he  did  not 

modify  his  opinion. 

72.  Acts  xv.  13-21. 

73.  This  is  the  meaning  of  verse  xv.  21.    The  Pharisees  did  not  consider  the 

law  as  applying  to  the  whole  human  race.  It  seemed  essential  to 
them  that  there  should  always  be  a  holy  tribe,  who  observed  and 
offered  a  living  realization  of  the  revealed  ideal. 

74.  Comp.  Acts  xxi.  20,  et  seq. 

75.  Comp.  Acts  xxi.  20-25. 

76.  Gal.  ii.  4. 

77.  Gal.  ii.   3-5.      The  meaning  is,  "If  Titus  was  circumcised,  it  is  not 

that  he  was  forced  to  it.     It  was  because  of  the  false  brethren,  to 
30* 


354  SAINT  PAUL. 

whom  we  might  yield  a  moment,  but  not  submit  ourselves  in  prin- 
ciple. "  The  opposition  of  rtpoS  aopar  and  of  dta^eiyp  confirms  our 
explanation.  If  it  is  not  adopted,  verse  5  is  meaningless.  Cf.  Ter- 
tullian,  Contre  Martian,  v.  3.  Paul's  conduct  in  this  circumstance, 
if  it  is  what  we  suppose,  answers  well  to  Acts  xvi.  3 ;  xxi.  20,  et  seq., 
to  I.  Cor.  ix.  20,  et  seq.,  and  to  Rom.  xiv.,  xv.,  i,  et  seq. 

78.  I.  Cor.  ix.  20. 

79.  See  especially  his  response  in  that  which  concerns  the  meats  sacrificed  to 

idols,  I.  Cor.  viii.  4,  et  seq.;  x.  19,  et  seq. 

So.  Acts  xv.  28,  et  seq.  Comp.  Acts  xxi.  25;  Apoc.  ii.  14,  20;  Pseudo- 
Phocylides,  verse  1 75,  et  seq. ;  Pseudo-Heraclitus,  yth  letter  (in  a  Jewish 
or  Christian  hand),  line  85  (edition  of  Bernays);  Pseudo-Clement, 
Homil.  vii.  4,  8;  Recogn.  I.  30;  IV.  36;  VI.  10;  IX.  29;  Constit. 
apost.  VI.  12;  Canones  apost.  canon  63  (Lagarde);  letters  from  the 
churches  of  Lyons  and  Vienna,  in  Eusebius  H.  E.  v.  i;  Tertullian, 
ApoL  9 ;  Minutius  Felix,  30.  On  the  meaning  of  the  word  Ttoprfia, 
comp.  I.  Cor.  v.  i,  and  Levit.  xviii.  This  word  can  only  signify 
intermarriage ;  cf.  I.  Cor.  vii.  The  prohibition  to  eat  blood  soon 
fell  into  disuse  among  the  Latins  (St.  Aug.,  Contra  Faustwn  xxxii. 
13).  But  it  was  preserved  among  the  Greeks  (cone,  of  Gangres, 
canon  18;  Novelles  de  Leon,  the  Philosopher,  const.  58;  Harmeno- 
pulus  Epitome  canonum,  §  V.,  tit.  V.,  No.  14,  p.  65,  66  (Freher); 
Cotelier,  EccL  gr&ca  monum.,  tit.  III.,  p.  504,  505,  668,  669;  De 
Sto.  Theodora,  vers.  253,  in  Wernsdorf,  Manuelis  Philce  carmina 
graca,  p.  46. 

81.  Talm.  of  Bab.  Sanhedrin  56  b. 

82.  Gen.  ix.  4;  Levit.  xvii.  14;  Book  of  Jubilees  c.  7  (Ewald  Jahrb.,  years 

2  and  3). 

83.  Origen,  Contre  Celse,  viii.  30. 

84.  Poema  rou3£rz£or,ver.  139,  145, 147, 148  (Bernays,  Ueber  das phokyl. 

Gedicht}.  The  apocryphal  correspondence  of  Heraclitus,  composed 
chiefly  in  the  first  century  of  our  era,  shows  at  times  an  analogous 
tendency.  Cf.  J.  .Bernays,  Dil  heraklitischen  Brief  e  (Berlin,  1869), 
p.  26,  et.  seq. ;  68,  72,  et  seq. 

85.  Pcema  rovSenxor,  verse  175,  et  suiv. 

86.  Comp.  especially  Acts  xv.  20  and  I.  Cor.  viii.,  x.     It  is  impossible  to 

admit  the  textual  authenticity  of  the  ordinance  cited  Acts  xv.  23-29; 
first,  because  St.  Paul  (Gal.  ii. )  would  have  appealed  to  such  an  ordi- 
nance had  it  existed ;  second,  because  Gal.  ii. ,  et  seq. ,  would  have 
been  void  of  meaning  if  there  had  been  such  an  ordinance ;  third, 
because  the  recital  (Acts  xxi.  18,  et  seq.,  and  even  xvi.  3)  is  no  longer 
explained  by  this  hypothesis ;  fourth,  because  the  doctrine  of  Paul  on 
sacrificed  meats  (I.  Cor.  viii.,  x.)  contradicts  the  ordinance;  fifth, 


SAINT  PAUL.  355 

because  the  Judean-Christian  party  always  denied  the  legitimacy  of 
all  repeal  of  a  part  of  the  law,  a  thing  that  can  not  be  imagined,  if  the 
question  had  been  canonically  regulated  by  such  persons  as  James  and 
Peter,  of  whom  the  Judean-Christian  party  proclaimed  the  supreme 
authority. 

87.  Gal.  ii.  2,  6,  et  seq.  Cf.  the  Kypvyna  TlavXoVj  cited  by  the  author  of 

"De  non  itcrando  baptismo"  sequel  to  the  works  of  St.  Cyprian, 
edit.     Rigault,  Paris,  1648,  append,  p.  139. 

88.  Gal.  ii.  7-9.     Probably  Paul's  memory  conformed  here  to  the  interests 

of  his  thesis,  and  induced  him  to  some  exaggeration. 

89.  Gal.  ii.  2. 

90.  Acts  xv.  22,  et  seq. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

1.  Josephus,  Centre  Apion,  ii.  39. 

2.  Acts,  xiii.  52,  etc. 

3.  Urbem.     .     .     quo  cuncta  undique  atrocia  aut  pudenda  confluunt  cele- 

branturque.     Tacitus,  Ann.  xv.  44. 

4.  The  epigraphy  of  the  city  of  Rome  gave  evidence  of  it ;  still  more  the 

literature. 

5.  For   the   Jews,   see  Garrucci,    Cimitero  degli  antichi  Ebrei,   p.    63 ; 

Dissert,  arch.,  ii.  p.  176,  177,  etc.  Only  a  quarter  of  the  Jewish  in- 
scriptions of  Rome  is  in  Latin.  For  the  Christians,  see  de  Rossi 
Inscr.  Christ,  urbes  Romae,  i.  Jews  and  Christians  often  wrote 
Latin  in  Greek  characters.  Garrucci,  dm.  p.  67,  and  Dissert,  ii. 
p.  164,  176,  180,  181,  183,  184. 

6.  Suetonius,    Claudius,  25;  Acts,  xviii.  2.     The  precautionaiy  measures 

which  Claudius  took  against  the  Jews,  after  Dion  Cassius  (LX.  6,) 
seem  to  have  nothing  in  common  with  the  fact  reported  by  Suetonius, 
They  seem  to  relate  to  an  earlier  date. 

7.  This  name  is  quite  common,  especially  among  slaves  or  affranchised. 

Orrelli,  2414,  etc.  Cic.  Epist.fam.  ii.  8.  See  Van  Dale,  Deorac.  p.  604, 
605  (2d  edit.).  It  was  used  especially  among  the  Jews ;  Corp.  inscr. 
gr.  2114,  b.  b.;  Levy,  Epigr.  Bcitr.  p.  301,  313;  Ant.  du.  Bosph. 
Cimm.  inscr.  No.  22  ;  Mel.  greco-rom.  of  the  Acad.  of  St.  Peters- 
burg, i.  p.  98.  Cf.  Martial,  VII.  liv ;  de  Rossi,  Roma  sott.  I.  tav. 
xxi.  No.  4. 

8.  That  which  makes  this  hypothesis  almost  a  certainty  is  the  similitude  of 

Acts  xviii.  2,  and  Tacitus,  Ann.  xv.  44.  Tacitus,  in  fact,  supposes 
that  the  Christians  were  repressed  before  Nero.  It  is  true  that  Taci- 


3S6  SAINT  PAUL. 

tus  (ibid)  and  Suetonius  himself,  elsewhere  (Nero,  16)  speak  more 
accurately  of  the  Christians.  But  we  may  suppose  that  Suetonius 
copies,  in  the  life  of  Claudius,  an  account  or  report  of  the  police  of 
the  time. 

9.  The  word  ^pztfrzorro?,  previously  made  (see  les  Apbtres,  p.  234), 
proves  that,  from  this  epoch,  the  most  common  name  to  designate 
Jesus  was  XpztfroS.  Cf.  Pliny  Epist.  x.  97.  St.  Paul,  in  his  epistles, 
generally  writes  the  two  names.  Sometimes  he  uses  only  one  of  them. 

10.  See  les  Apotres,  p.  234,  235. 

1 1.  The  confusion  of  the  two  names  is  explained,  moreover,  by  the  iotacist 

pronunciation  of  xpydrot.  This  confusion  was  frequent.  See  Ter- 
tullian,  Apol.  3,  Lactantius  Instil.  IV.  vii.  5.  Among  the  inscrip- 
»  tions  prior  to  Constantine,  where  the  name  of  the  Christians  is  found, 
three  out  of  four  bear  xPrl(>Tiaro'*'  Corpus  inscr.  gr.  Nos. 
2883  d,  3857  £-,  3857^).  The  substitution  of  the  e  for  the  /  is, 
moreover,  a  very  common  feature  of  Roman  orthography.  Quintil- 
lian  I.  iv.  7;  vii.  22.  Orosius  (vii.  6)  read  Christus  in  the  passage 
of  Suetonius. 

12.  Com.  Acts  xvi.  i. 

13.  Suetonius  does  not  say  in  what  year  this  took  place.     Orosius  assigns 

the  9th  of  the  reign  of  Claudius  (49.  50).  Hist.  vii.  6.  But  Orosius 
appeals  to  the  authority  of  Josephus  for  it,  in  works  where  we  find 
nothing  about  this  fact.  The  verse  (Acts  xviii.  2)  clearly  establishes 
that  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  Paul  to  Corinth  (52)  the  edict  was 
recent. 

14.  Philo.  Leg.  ad  Caium,  §  23;  Martial,  I.  XLII.   (xxxv.)  3.    The  Jews 

continued  to  inhabit  the  Transtevere  until  the  fifteenth  or  six- 
teenth century  (Bosio,  Roma  sott.  Iv.  II.  ch.  xxiii ;  cf.  Corp.  No. 
9907).  It  is  certain,  however,  that,  under  the  emperors,  they  in- 
habited many  other  places,  especially  the  Field  of  Mars  (Corp.  Nos. 
9905,  9906;  Orelli,  2522;  Garrucci,  Dissert,  arch.  ii.  p.  163),  the 
outside  of  the  Capena  gate  (Juv.  Sat.  iii.  n.  et  seq.;  Garrucci, 
Cimitero,  p.  4 ;  peculiar  archaeological  information),  the  isle  of  the 
Tiber,and  the  mendicant's  bridge  (Juv.  iv.  116;  v.  8;  xiv.  134;  Mar- 
tial, X.  v.  3), and  perhaps  the  Subura  (Corp.  No.  6447). 

15.  Martial,  I.  xlii.  3;  VI.  xciii.  4;  Juvenal,  xiv.  201,  et  seq. 

1 6.  The  principal  Jewish  cemetery  of  Rome  was  found  near  there  by  Bosio, 

in  1602.  Bosio,  op,  cit.  I.  II,  ch.  xxii.;  Aringhi,  Roma.  Sott.  vol.  I. 
I.  ii.  c.  23.  Cf.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  Nos.  9901,  et  seq.,  inscriptions 
found  mostly  in  this  cemetery,  and  left  in  great  numbers  in  the 
neighborhood.  The  trace  of  the  catacomb  is  lost.  P.  Marchi  has 
sought  it  in  vain.  Two  Jewish  catacombs  have  since  been  found 
at  Rome,  adjoining  each  other,  on  the  Appian  Way,  near  Saint  Se- 


SAINT  PAUL.  357 

bastion ;  Garrucci,  Cimitero  degli  antichi  Ebrei  (Roma,  1862) ; 
Dissert,  arch.  ii.  (Roma,  1866)  p.  150,  et  seq.,  de  Rossi.  Bull, 
diarch.  Crist.  1867,  p.  3.  1 6. 

17.  Provinc.  Cons.  5. 

18.  Philo.  I.e.;  Tacitus  Ann.  ii.  85.     The  inscriptions  confirm  it.     Levy, 

op.  cit.  p.  287.  Cf.  Mommsen,  Inscr.  regni  Neap.,  No.  6467 
(captiva  is  doubtful);  de  Rossi,  Bull.  1864,  p.  70,  92,  93.  Cf.  Acts 
vi.  9. 

19.  Compare  Wescher  and  Foncart,  Inscr.  recueillies  d  Delphes,  Nos.  57 

and  364. 

20.  Cicero,  Pro  Flacco,  28. 

21.  Jos.  Ant.  XVII,  iii.  5;  xi.  i;  Dion.  Cassius,  XXXVII.  17  ;  Tacit.  Ann. 

II.  85;  Suetonius,  Tib.  36;  Mommsen,  Inscr.  regni  Neap.t  No. 
6467.  There  were  in  Rome  at  least  four  synagogues,  two  of  which 
bore  the  names  of  Augustus  and  Agrippa  (Herod  Agrippa?);  Corp. 
inscr.  gr.  6447,  9902,  9903,  9904,  9905,  9907,  9909  ;  Orelli,  2522; 
Garrucci,  Cimitero,  p.  38-40  ;  Dissert  arch.  ii.  p.  161,  162,  163, 
165.;  de  Rossi,  Bull.  1867,  p.  16. 

22.  Philo.  Leg.  ad  Caium,  §  23;  Juvenal,  iii.    14,  296;.  vi.  542;  Martial  I. 

xlii.  3,  et  seq.;  X.  iii.  3,  4 ;  XII.  Ivii,  13,  14,  Statius,  silvcc,  I.  vi.  72- 
74.  The  Jewish  burial-places  of  Rome  give  evidence  of  great  pov- 
erty. Bosia,  Roma  softer,  p.  190,  et  seq.;  ~L&\y,  Epigraph,  JBeitrage 
zur  Gesch.  de  Juden.  p.  283. 

23.  Nardini,  Roma  antica,  iii.  p.  328-330  (4°  edit.) ;  Martial,  vi.  xciii.  4. 

24.  Castra  lecticariorum,  in  the  treatise  De  regionibus  urbis  Romce,  regio 

xiv ;  Canina,  Rom.  antica,  p.  553,  554.  Cf.  Forcellini,  at  the  word 
lecticarius.  The  Syrtis  of  the  Latin  comedies  is  usually  a  lecti- 
caritis. 

25.  Josephus,  Ant.  XIV.  x.  8;  Acts,  XXVIII.  31. 

26.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  No.  9908;  Garrucci,  Cimitero,  p.  57,  58. 

27.  Cf.  Hor.  Sat.  I.  ix.  69,  et  seq. ;  Suetonius,  Aug.  76;  Seneca,  Epist.  xcv. 

47;  Perse,  v.  179,  et  seq.;  Juvenal,  xiv.  96,  et  seq.;  Martial,  IV.  iv.  6. 
The  Jewish  epigraphy  at  Rome  attests  a  population  very  scrupulous  in 
ceremonies.  Levy,  Epigr.  Beytr.  p.  285,  et  seq.  Note  the  epithets, 
tpiA.eyroA.oS  (Corp.  No.  9904 ;  Garrucci,  Dissert,  ii.  p.  180.  185,  191, 
192),  agreeing  with  Ps.  cxix,  48,  or  any  like  passage.  Comp.  Mommsen, 
Inscr.  regni  Neap.  No.  6467  (notwithstanding  Garrucci,  dm.  p.  24, 
25).  The  Jews  carefully  avoided  the  sepulchral  stones  bearing  D.  M. 
They  had  also  in  Italy  manufactories  of  lamps  for  their  use  (Jewish 
lamps  of  the  Parent  Museum  found  at  Bai'a). 

28.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  Nos.  9902,  et  seq.,  Garrucci,  Cimitero,  p.  35,  et  seq.; 

51,  et  seq.;  67,  et  seq.;  Dissert,  arch.  ii.  p.  161,  et  seq.;  177, 
et  seq.;  181,  et  seq. 


353  SAINT  PAUL. 

29.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.\  Nos.  9904,  9905,  9908,  9909  (cf.   Renier  Inscr.  de 

I'Algerie,  No.  3340);  Orelli,  No.  2522  (cf.  Gruter,  p.  323);  Gar- 
rucci,  Cimitero,  p.  52,  53. 

30.  Orelli,  2522,  2523;  Levy,  p.  285,  311-313;  Garrucci,  Dissert,  arch., 

ii.  p.  166 ;  Graetz,  Gesch.  der  Juden,  iv.  p.  123,  506,  507. 

31.  Juvenal,  vi.  542,  et  seq.  . 

32.  Hor.  Sat.  I.  ix.  71,  72. 

33.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  9904,  et  seq.;  Garrucci,  Cimitero,  31,  et  seq.;  67,  et 

seq.,  especially  p.  68;  Dissert,  ii.,  153,  et  seq.  Remark,  especially^ 
the  beautiful  expressions,  (piX.on£vr}<*,  (piXoXaoS  (Corp.  No.  9904; 
Garrucci,  Diss.  p.  185;  cf.  II.  Macch.  xv.  14).  Concresconins^ 
Conlaboronius  (Garr.  Diss.  II.  p.  160,  161).  There  is  the  greatest 
analogy  between  the  Jewish  and  Christian  epigraphy.  It  is  true  that 
the  majority  of  the  inscriptions  which  we  have  cited  are  much  later 
than  the  reign  of  Claudius.  But  the  character  of  the  Jewish  colonies 
of  Rome  could  not  have  changed  much. 

34.  See  les  A  pot  res,  p.  252.     M.  Renier  thinks  that  it  is  of  Tiberius  Alex- 

tander  that  there  is  question  in  Juvenal  i.  129,  131 ;  arabarches  for 
alabarches.  Mem.  de  VAcad.  des  inscr.  vol.  XXVI.  ist  part.,  p. 
294,  et  seq. 

35.  Perse,  v.  179,  et  seq.     The  question  there  is  of  the  hanucca. 

36.  Plainer  and  Bunsen.     Beschreibung  der  Stadt  Rom.  i.  p.    183-185. 

The  excavations  recently  made  near  the  agger  of  Sevius  Tullius 
evince  an  agglomeration  of  population  truly  incredible. 

37.  Tacitus,  Hist.  v.  5. 

38.  Cf.  Juvenal,  iii.  14;  vi.  542. 

39.  Orosius,  vi.  18,  20;  small  Roman  martyrology  (edit.  Rosweyde)  to  the 

9th  of  July.     See  Forcellini,  at  the  word  meritoriiis. 

40.  The  Roman  tradition  intends  that  the  church  of  St.  Mary  of  Transte- 

vere  should  have  succeeded  to  the  Taberna.  See  Nardini,  Roma 
antica,  iii.  336,  337 ;  Platner  and  Bunsen,  III.  3d  part,  p.  659, 
660. 

41.  Lampride,  vie  d'Alex.  Sev.  49.     Compare  Anastasius,  the  Bibl.,  Vitas 

Pontif.  rom.  xvii.  (edit,  of  Bianchini),  taking  notice  of  the  observa- 
tions of  Platner. 

42.  Foetentes  judoei,  Am.  Mar.  XXII.  5. 

43.  See  les  Apotres>  p.  290,  et  seq. 

44.  Juvenal  III.  13,  Martial  IV.  iv.  7. 

45.  See  Suet.  Tib.  36. 

46.  D.  Cass.  XXXVII.  17.     Comp.  Tac.  Ann.  xii.  52,  Hist.  I.  22. 

47.  It  is  the  date  of  the   epistle  to  the  Romans.     Cf.   Acts  xxviii.    15, 

et  seq. 

48.  Acts  xviii.  2,  3.     The  expression  lovSator  does  not  prove  that  he 

was  not  a  Christian.     Compare,  for  example,  Gal.  ii.  13. 


SAINT  PAUL.  359 

49.  The  Acts  (xviii.  2),  it  is  true,  do  not  say  that  they  were  Christians  when 

St.  Paul  met  them.  But  neither  do  they  say  that  St.  Paul  converted 
them ;  and  the  contrary  seems  to  arise  from  the  canonical  recital.  It 
appears  that  the  edict  of  Claudius  applied  only  to  those  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  brawls ;  but  is  it  possible  that  this  apostolic  pair 
had  taken  part  with  the  adversaries  of  "Chrestus"?  Impossible 
that  they  had  become  Christians  at  Corinth ;  they  had  just  arrived 
there ;  and,  besides,  there  was  no  church  at  Corinth  before  the  arrival 
of  Paul,  I.-  Cor.  Hi.  6,  10 ;  iv.  14,  15;  i,  2;  ix.  II.  Cor.  xi.  2,  etc. 

50.  The  assigning  of  the  ancient  title  of  St.   Prisca,  on  the  Aventine,  to 

Priscilla,  wife  of  Aquila,  is  the  result  of  a  confusion.  See  de  Rossi 
{Bull,  di  arch,  crist.,  1867,  p.  44,  et  seq.),  who  does  not  succeed  in 
tracing  this  identification  further  than  the  eighth  century. 

51.  Acts  xxviii,  14. 

52.  Paul  Diacra,  Epitome  of  Festus,  at  the  word  Minorem  Delum  ;  Dion. 

Cassius,  XLVIII.  49,  et  seq.;  LXVII.  14;  Suetonius,  Aug.  98;  Nero, 
31;  Tacitus,  Ann.  xv.  42,  43,  46;  Pliny,  Hist.  nat.  xiv.  8  (6);  Seneca, 
Epist.  Ixxvii.  i,  2;  Statius,  Silvte.,  IV.  iii.  26,  27.  Ostiadid  not  take 
all  its  importance  until  the  departure  of  Trajan.  It  had,  however, 
some  Jews  from  the  time  of  Claudius,  De  Rossi,  Bull.  1866,  p.  40. 

53.  Philo,  /;*  Flaccum,  §5;  Jos.  Ant.  XVII.  xii.  i;  XVIII.  vi.  4;  vii.  2; 

Vita,  3 ;  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  No.  5853 ;  Jewish  lamp  found  at  Bai'a 
(mus.  Parent.) 

54.  Strabo,  V.  iv.  6. 

55.  Book  of  Enoch,  ch.  Ixvii;  Sibylline  verses,  IV.  130,  et  seq.;  Apoc.  ix. 

i,  et  seq. 

56.  Dion.  Cassius,  LIX.  17  ;  Suet.  Caius,  37;  Tacitus,  Ann.  XIV,  4;  Jos. 

Ant.   XIX.   i.    I  ;    Seneca,  De  brevit.   vita,   18.     Cf.   Philo.  Leg. 

§44- 

57.  Acts  xviii.  2;  Comment,  (of  deacon  Hilary)  on  the  epistles  of  St.  Paul, 

sequel  of  the  works  of  St.  Ambrose,  Benedictine  edition,  vol.  II.  2d 
part  (Paris,  i6S6),  col.  25  and  30.  This  commentary  is  by  a  man 
well  versed  in  the  traditions  of  the  Roman  church. 

58.  Rom.  xiv.  (?)  xv.  1-13. 

59.  Rom.  xiv.  (?)  xv.  8.     Cf.  Tacitus,  Hist.  v.  5. 

60.  Epiph.  hser.  xxx.  18.     Comp.  xxx.  2,  15,  16,  17. 

61.  Rom.  xiv.  (?).   Homil.  Pseudo-Clement,  xiv.  i. 

62.  Commentary  (of  Hilary)  before  quoted,  ibid.    Comp.  the  allegation  of 

Artemon,  in  Eusebius,  H.  E.  \.  28;  Homil.  Pseudo-Clem,  (work  of 
Roman  origin),  xvi.  14,  et  seq. 

63.  This  is  the  reason  that  the  Judean-Christian  and  millenarian  literature 

is  better  preserved  in  Latin  than  in  Greek  (4th  book  of  Esdras, 
Little  Genesis,  Assumption  of  Moses).  The  Greek  fathers  of  the 


360  SAINT  PAUL. 

fourth  and  fifth  centuries  were  very  hostile  to  this  literature,  even  to 
the  apocalypse.  The  Greek  church  depends  more  directly  on  Paul 
than  the  Latin  church.  In  the  Orient,  Paul  had  truly  destroyed  his 
his  enemies.  Note  the  favorable  reception  which  Montanism  (a 
heresy  which  has  some  connection  with  Judea-Christianism)  and  other 
sects  of  the  same  kind  found  at  Rome.  Tertullian,  Adv.  Prax.  j  ; 
St.  Hippolyte  (?)  Philosophum  ix.  7,  12,  13,  et  seq.  See  especially,  in 
Eus.  H.  E.  v.  28,  concerning  the  heresy  of  Artemon  and  of  Theodotus, 
remarking  the  principle  of  the  Artemonites,  according  to  which  the 
traditional  doctrine  of  the  church  of  Rome  had  been  altered  dating 
from  Zephyrin. 
64.  See  the  pseudo-Clementine  homilies  (Roman  writing),  especially  homily 


CHAPTER  V. 

1.  The  Ttpo6xtxpTSprj6i^  or  confirmation  of  the  proselytes  (see  Schleusner, 

at  the  words  Grrfpi^G)  and  ETtitirrjpi^Gd)  was  also  one  of  the  prejudices 
of  the  Jews.  See  Antiq.  duBosph.  Cimm.  II.  inscr.  22. 

2.  II.  Cor.  xi.  2. 

3.  Acts  xv.  37-39. 

4.  Acts  xv.  39. 

5.  I.  Cor.  ix.  6. 

6.  Gal.  ii.  13. 

7.  That  results  from  I.  Cor.  ix  6. 

8.  Gal.  ii.  9,  10. 

9.  I.  Petri  v.  12.     There  are  doubts  remaining  of  the  identity  of  the  two 

personages. 

10.  Acts  xvi.  37,  38. 

11.  Acts  xv.  41. 

12.  Passage  of  Beylan. 

13.  Demir-Kapu,  or  Kara-Kapu,  now. 

14.  Kinlek-Boghaz,  to-day. 

15.  Acts  xvi.  i,  3;  I.  Cor.  iv.  17;  xvi.  10,  n;  Phil.  ii.  20,  22;  I.  Tim.  i.  2; 

II.  Tim.  ii.  22;  iii.  10,  n.  We  can  not  take  strictly  the  testimony 
of  these  last  two  epistles,  which  are  fabricated.  These  testimonies, 
however,  will  not  be  altogether  without  value. 

1 6.  Phil.  ii.  22.    Cf.  I.  Tim.  i.  2. 

17.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  10,  n. 

1 8.  Ibid. 

19.  Phil.  ii.  20. 

20.  Acts  xvi.  3.     This  shows  well  what  is  exaggerated  and  what  is  proper  in 

xv.  41  and  xvi.  4. 


SAINT  PAUL.  361 

21.  Gal.  ii.  3-5.     See  88,  et  seq. 

22.  I.  Cor.  ix.  20,  et  seq.;  Rom.  xv.,  et  seq. 

23.  Gal.  i.  9. 

24.  This  seems  the  result  of  Acts  xv.  36,  and  of  Acts  xvi.  6,  marking  what 

we  have  said  upon  the  meaning  of  the  word  TcxXaTi^rj. 

25.  Acts  xvi.  6;  following  the  reading  of  the  Codex  Vaticamts  and  of  the 

Codex  Sinaiticits. 

26.  Comp.  Acts  ii.  9;  vi.  9;  xx.  16;  I.  Fetri  i.  i;  Apocal.  i.  4,  explained  by 

ii.,  iii.     Comp.  Ptolemy  V.  ii. ;  Strabo  XII.  viii.  15;  Pliny  v.  28. 

27.  Even  Galian  believes  it.     De  libris propriis,  ch.  ii  (Opp.  vol.  XIX.,  p. 

1 8,  19,  edit.  Kiihn). 

28.  See  Buxtorf,  Lex.  chald.  talm.  rabb.y  at  the  word  b^D  £"Q' 

29.  Acts  viii.  26,  28,  39,  40;  xvi.  6,  7,  9. 

30.  Acts  xvi.  6. 

31.  Acts  xvi.  7. 

32.  There  remain  quite  important  ruins  of  them.    Texier,  Asie  Aftn.,  p.  194, 

et  seq.;  Conybeare  and  Howson,  i.  p.  300,  et  seq. 

33.  They  are  about  two  metres  in  breadth. 

34.  Appears  from  Col.  iv.   verses  n,   14,  compared  together.     Thus,  the 

parts  generally  taken,  which  prevail  in  the  book  of  Acts,  are  explained, 
especially  ch.  xv. 

35.  This  is  only  a  probable  hypothesis.      We  admit  that  the  narrator  who, 

at  the  close  of  Acts,  says  "we"  is  the  author  of  the  third  gospel  and 
of  the  Acts  (Irenaeus,  Adv.  ffar.,  III.  xv.  i),  and  we  see  no  reason 
not  to  identify  him  with  Luke,  companion  of  Paul,  named  in  Col.  iv. 
14;  Philemon  24;  II.  Tim.  iv.  u.  From  this  we  must  suppose  that 
Luke  joined  Paul  at  Troas,  since  it  is  on  leaving  this  city,  that  the 
"we"  begins.  But  there  were  no  Jews  in  Troas.  As  on  the  other 
hand,  first,  the  narrator  who  says  "we"  seems  to  have  remained  at 
Philippi,  dating  from  xvi.  17;  second,  that  the  xvi.  9,  10,  have  a  physi- 
ognomy which  causes  reflection  ;  third,  that  verses  12  and  following 
seem,  in  spite  of  the  slight  error  in  itpcdTr]  (an  error  which  can  be 
justified),  to  come  from  one  acquainted  with  the  country ;  fourth, 
that  the  narrator  (Acts  xix.  22  and  xx.  i)  is  much  more  occupied 
with  Macedonia  than  with  Corinth,  and  is  thus  induced  to  err ; 
fifth,  as  the  narrator  who  says  "we"  appears  on  the  scene  at  ch.  xx.  v. 
5,  at  the  moment  when  Paul  passes  to  Philippi  and  regains  Troas,  we 
are  led  to  suppose  that  the  narrator  who  says  "we"  was  a  Macedonian. 
Two  striking  circumstances  are,  first,  the  detail  and  the  exactitude  of  the 
recital  in  what  touches  the  mission  of  Macedonia  and  the  last  jour-t 
neys  of  Paul  (xx.  5);  the  other,  the  knowledge  of  technical  terms  of 
navigation,  shown  in  all  the  parts  where  the  author  says  "we."  Let 
us  add  that  the  author  of  the  Acts  knew  very  little  of  Judaism,  and 
31 


362  SAINT  PAUL. 

that,  on  the  contrary,  he  knew  something  of  Greece  and  Greek  phi- 
losophy (Acts  xvii.  1 8,  et  seq).  Perhaps  it  was  in  admiration  of  the 
ways  of  Providence  that  he  insists  so  much  (xvi.  6,  7)  on  the  revela- 
tions which  imposed  on  Paul  the  itinerary  which  was  to  make  them 
meet  at  Troas. 

36.  Most  of  the  names  found  on  the  inscriptions  of  Philippi  and  Neapolis 

are  Latin.  Cf.  Henzey,  Miss,  de  Maced.,  first  part.  The  name  of 
Lucanus  or  Lucas,  moreover,  was  not  very  rare  in  the  Orient.  Cf. 
Corp.  inscr.  gr.,  Nos.  3829,  4700  k,  4759  (cf.  add.). 

37.  Col.  iv.  14;  II.  Tim.  iv.  n. 

38.  Cf.  Phil.  ii.  20,  et  seq. 

39.  Compare  the  recital,  Acts  xxvii.,  xxviii.,  especially  xxvii.,  n,  21,  et  seq., 

recitals  relative  to  St.  Brandan. 

40.  Acts  x.  2,  24;  xvi,  15,  33,  34;  xviii.  8. 

41.  Acts  ix.  i,  et  seq.;  Luc.  vii.  4,  5.     Comp.  Acts  xxvii.  3,  et  seq. 

42.  See  les  Apotres,  p.  xxii.,  et  seq.;  203,  note  i;  and  above,  note  38,  Chap. 

I.  His  plan  is  always  to  show  Paul  delivered  from  the  hands  of  the 
Jews  by  the  Romans,  Acts  xxi.,  xxii.,  xxiii.,  etc. 

43.  Col.  iv.  14. 

44.  Luke  i.  46,  et  seq.;  68,  et  seq.,  ii.  14,  29,  et  seq.,  and  in  general,  chap- 

ters i.  and  ii.     Comp.   Vie  de  Jesus,  p.  Ixxxiii,  et  seq.  (I3th  edit.) 

45.  Acts  xvi.  9-11. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

I.  Notice  the  names  of  Sadoc,  Sparadoc,  Medoc,  Amadoc,  Olorus,  Lutarius, 
Leonorius,  Comontorius,  Lomnorius,  Luarius,  Cavarus,  Bithocus  or 
Bituitus  (comp.  Revue  num.,  new  series,  vol.  i.  1856;  Arvernian  coins, 
Nos.  5,  6),  Rabocentus,  Bithicenthus,  Zipacenthus  (Heuzey),  Miss,  de 
Mac.  p.  149,  et  seq.;  Art  de  verif.  les  dates,  av.  J.  C.  t.  iii.  p. 
106-132).  The  inclination  to  drunkenness,  so  strong  among  the 
Thracians,  is  generally  an  indication  of  the  Gallic  or  German  race. 
2.  Appian,  Civil  Wars,  iii.  79. 

3.  The  Slavonic  element  predominates  now  in  Macedonia. 

4.  Now  Cavala,  an  important  maritime  port.    See  Heuzey,  Miss,  de  Maced. 

p.  n,  et  seq.  However,  it  is  sometimes  supposed  that  the  ancient 
city  was  situated  at  Lefthero-Limani  or  Eski-Cavala  (the  old  Cavala,) 
10  kilometres  to  the  S.  E.  of  Cavala,  where  there  is  a  very  good  port. 
It  is  more  probable  that  Lefthero-Limani  is  the  ancient  Daton,  which 
was  gradually  abandoned  for  the  "new  city,"  Neapolis  or  Neopolis. 
See  Perrot,  in  the  Revue  arch.,  July,  1860,  p.  45,  et  seq.  In  fact, 


SAINT  PAUL.  363 

Lefth6ro  is  far  from  the  Egnatian  road  and  farther  from  Philippi 
than  Cavala. 

5.  Appian,  Civil  Wars,  iv.  106;  Heuzey  p.  15,  et  seq. 

6.  Now  entirely  destroyed.     Beautiful  ruins.     Even  the  name,  which  was 

preserved  in  that  of  the  village  of  Filibedjck,  is  now  lost.  See 
Heuzey,  Miss,  de  Maced.,  first  part. 

7.  Henzey,  Miss,  de  Maced.,  p.  33,  34. 

8.  Strabo  vii.  Fragm.  41. 

9.  Acts  xvi.  12;  Dion  Cassius  LI.  4;  Pliny  H.  N.  iv.  18;  Digest  L.  xv.  6; 

the  coins  and  inscriptions.     Cf.  Heuzey,  p.  17,  18,  72. 

10.  Heuzey,  Miss,  de  Maced.,  all  the  part  relative  to  Philippi  and  its  sur- 

roundings.    Later,  Greek  became  predominant. 

11.  Heuzey,  p.  40,  41,  46,  140. 

12.  Heuzey,  p.  iv.  v.  42.  137,  138,  etc. 

13.  Heuzey,  p.  78,  et  seq. 

14.  C  it  It  ores  sancti  Silvani,  Heuzey,  p.  69,  et  seq. 

15.  Orelli,  Inscr  Lat.,  No.  1800;  Sterner,  Inscr.  Germ.,  No.  1275. 

16.  On  the  worship  of  Bacchus  at  Philippi,   see  Appian,  Civil  Wars,  iv. 

106;  Heuzey  p.  79,  80. 

17.  Heuzey,  p.  39.     See  particularly  the  beautiful  inscription  of  Doxato: 

Heuzey,  p.  128,  et  seq.  Cf.  Comptes-rendus  de  I'Acad.  des  Inscr., 
July,  1868,  p.  219,  et  seq.  Compare  the  tomb  of  Vibia  at  Rome 
(Garrucci,  Tre  sepolcri,  etc.,  Napoli,  1862). 

18.  Strabo  X.  iii.  16;  Schol.  d'Arist.,  in  Vesp.  9;  Macrob.    Saturn.  \.  18; 

Heuzey,  p.  28-31,  80;  Wagner,  Inscr.  d'Asie  Min.t  p.  3,  et  seq. 

19.  Inscription  of  Doxato. 

20.  Theophrastus,  His.  plant.,  II.  2;  IV.  14  (16),  16,  (19);  VI.  6;  VII.  8; 

De  causis  plant.  IV.  12,  (13) ;  Pliny,  Hist,  nat.,  XXL  10.  There  are 
still  near  Dekili-tasch  many  beautiful  vegetable  gardens. 

21.  See  les  Apdtres,  p.  294,  295. 

22.  This  results  from  Acts  xvi.  13,  et.  seq.,  compared  to  Acts  xvii.  i,  10. 

23.  Appian,   "Civil  Wars."  iv.   106,   107;  Dion  Cassius  xlviii.  47.     Now 

the  river  of  Bonarbachi.  See  the  plan  of  Philippi  by  M.  Heuzey, 
and  the  text,  p.  67,  106,  120.  Herodotus  (vii.  113)  speaks  of  a  river 
Angites  (really  Angista)  which  he  says  empties  into  the  Strymon 
east  of  Pangia.  It  is  perhaps  the  same  name  as  Gangites ;  the  river 
Buonarbachi  is,  in  fact,  the  largest  affluent  of  Philippi,  which  flows 
into  the  Angista,  then  into  the  Strymon.  See  Kiepert's  map  of 
Turkey,  and  Consinery,  Voy.  dans  la  Maced.  ii.  p.  45,  et  seq. 

24.  This  mass  of  water  proceeding  solely  from  one  source,  such  as  the  Loire, 

was  indeed  enough  to  inspire  the  ancients  with  religious  ideas. 

25.  The  arch  called  Kiemer,  situated  near  the  place  mentioned  in  the  Acts, 

may  have  been  erected  in  memory  of  the  battle.    Heuzey,  p.  1 18-120. 


364  SAINT  PAUL. 

26.  Inscr.  in  the  Antiquites  dti  Bosphore  cimmerien,  No.  22 ;  Mel,  greco- 

ntm.  of  the  Acd.  of  Saint  Petersb.,  ii.  p.  200,  et  seq.;  Epiph.  Contra 
Hccr.  Lxxx.  Comp.  Juvenal  iii.  296. 

27.  Jos.  Ant.  XIV.  x.  23;  Pseudo-Aristeas,  p.  67  (edit.  Moriz  Schmidt); 

Philo.    In  Flaccum,  §  14;  Tertullian.     Dejej.  16. 

28.  Compare  as  analagous  Kopiv^iot  Corp.  Inscr.  gr.,  No.  3847  n ;  Le 

JBas  iii.  No.  1022;  Miss,  de  Phen.  inscr.  of  Sidon. 

29.  Pliny  H.  N.  VII.  57;  Maxim,  of  Tyr.  xl.  2;  Valerius  Flaccus  iv.  368, 

369;  Claudian  Rapt.  Proserp.  i.  276;  Elian  Anim.  iv.  45;  Strabo 
XIII.  iv.  14.  Comp.  Corpus  i.  g.,  Nos.  3496,  3497,  3498,  3924, 
3938;  Le  Bas  III.  1687;  Wagner  in  the  Reveu  de  rinstr.  publ.  en 
Belgique,  1868,  p.  I,  et  seq.  The  Jews  seem  to  have  been  particularly 
addicted  to  this  trade  (Wagner  1.  c). 

30.  See  Levy,  Epigr.  Beitrage,  p  312,  313. 

31.  Acts  xvi.  13,  et  seq.;   Phil.  iv.  2,  3. 

32.  Phil.  i.  3,  et.,  seq.  ii,  12. 

33.  Expl.  de  la  Gal.  p.  88;  Le  Bas  (Waddington)  iii.,   No.  722.      For  its 

name,  see  Corp.  inscr.  gr.y  No.  2264  m;  Perrot. 

34.  Phil.  iv.  2,  3. 

35.  Phil.  ii.  25,  et  seq. 

36.  Phil.  iv.  3. 

37.  Phil.  ii.  19,  23. 

38.  Phil.  iv.  10,  et  seq.     Cf.  I.  Thess.  ii.  5,  7,  9;  II.  Cor.  xi.,  et  seq. 

39.  Frr/dis  dv^vys,  Phil.  iv.  3.  Clement  of  Alexandria  (Strom,  iii.  6)  and 

Eusebius  (Hist.  Eccl.  iii.  30)  understand  that  in  the  sense  of  wife. 
It  is  remarkable  that  Lydia  is  not  named  in  the  epistle  to  the 
Philippians;  the  total  omission  of  such  an  important  personage 
would  be  singular.  The  role  that  Paul  lent  to  the  yvrfdioZ 
dv^vyo's  (v.  3)  agrees  also  with  the  rich  Lydia  (tfvA.A.ajii/3arov). 
Some  take  2v£vyo$  as  a  proper  name.  We  have  but  one  other 
example  of  such  a  name. 

40.  Compare  yrrj<5vcp  TEXTG),   I.   Tim.  i.  2;  Tit.  i.  4.     Paul  called  the 

mother  of  Rufus  after  the  same  manner  "my  mother"  (Rom.  xvi.  13). 

41.  Besides  Clement  of  Alexandria  and  Eusebius,  before  quoted,  see  Pseudo- 

Ignatius,  Ad.  Philad.  4  (Dressel).     Cf.  les  Apotres,  p.  172. 

42.  Pliny  Epist.  x.  97. 

43.  Plutarch,  De  defectu  orac.  9;  Hesychius,  at  the  word  IIv%K)r;  Sco- 

liast  of  Aristophanes,  ad  Vesp.  v.  1019. 

44.  Timothy  and  Luke  were,  without  doubt,  not  present  at  the  act  of  exor- 

cism. 

45.  It  was  the  name  given  to  the  first  magistrates  of  the  colonies. 

46.  See  the  Greek  dictionaries  at  the  word  dyopaiot. 

47.  Acts  xvi.  37. 


SAINT  PAUL.  365 

48.  Acts  xvi.  22,  23,  37;  I.  Thess.  ii.  2;  II.  Cor.  i.  25  ;  Phil.  i.  30. 

49.  The  recital  of  the  eye-witness,  just  now  so  clear,  here  becomes  confused, 

by  the  desire  he  has  to  find  everywhere  miracles,  and  the  conversions 
of  sinners,  or  persons  of  base  profession,  by  sudden  gifts  of  grace.  Is 
it  surprising  that  a  disciple  of  Paul  believed  that  his  master  performed 
miracles,  when  Paul  himself  declared  having  done  so?  Did  not  Por- 
phyre  attribute  miracles  to  Plotin,  his  master,  with  whom  he  had  lived 
for  years?  The  miraculous  deliverances  from  prison  were  the  most 
ordinary  themes  of  the  apostolic  miracles,  Acts  v.,  xii.  The  preju- 
dice of  the  jailor  is  found  in  the  recital  of  ch.  xii.,  who,  besides,  like 
the  one  we  now  discuss,  bore  almost  ocular  testimony. 

50.  Acts  xvi.  37. 

51.  Acts  v.  41;  II.  Cor.  xi.  23,  et  seq. 

52.  For  the  doubts  which  this  episode  raises,  see   hereafter  note  42,  ch. 

XIX. 

53.  Cic.  in  Verrem  II.  v.  62,  et  seq. 

54.  For  Timothy,  that  results  from  Acts  xvii.  4,  10,  14,  15.    For  Luke,  from 

the  fact  that  "we"  does  not  appear  again  until  Acts  xx.  5,  at  the 
time  of  the  third  mission,  where  Paul  returned  to  the  "coasts"  of 
Macedonia  and  of  Troas. 

55.  It  might  be  supposed  that  Paul  went  by  the  north  of  the  Pangea  (Leake, 

"Travels  in  northern  Greece,"  iii.  p.  179,  180;  Conybeare  and  How- 
sen  i,  p.  340).  But,  besides  some  traces,  which  may  be  those  of  the 
Ignatian  road,  seen  on  the  south,  I  am  convinced  that  to-day,  to  go 
from  Dekeli-tasch  (the  khan  of  Philippi)  to  lenikeui,  we  should  pass 
through  the  valley  which  extends  from  Pravista  to  Orfani. 

56.  Titus- Livy  XLV.  29  (cf.  Pliny  iv.  17) ;  notwithstanding  Acts  vi.  12,  see 

Strabo  vii.  fragment  21.  Amphipolis  has  almost  entirely  disappeared. 
Quite  a  flourishing  village  (lenikeui)  has  risen  in  its  place. 

57.  Acts  xvii.  i. 

58.  See  Cousinery,  Voy.  en  Mac.  i.  116,  et  seq.;  Clark,  Travels,  iv.  p.  381, 

et  seq.;  Leake  iii.  170,  et  seq.,  461. 

59.  Plutarch,  Life  of  Lycurgus,  31;  Vitruve  VIII.  iii.  16;  Pliny  H.  N.  xxxi. 

19;  Aulu-'Gelle  xv.  20;  Am.  Marcel,  xxvii.  4;  It  in.  de  Bordeaux 
p.  604  (Wesseling);  AnthoL  palat.  vii.  51;  Clark,  1.  c. 

60.  Pliny  iv.  17  ;  Itin.  Ant.  p.  320  Wesseling ;  Etienne  de  Byzance,  s.  h.  v. 

Doubtless  identical  with  ruins  called  Pollina,  situated  south  of  the 
eastern  extremity  of  lake  Betschik-Gueul.  (See  Kiepert's  map  of 
Turkey;  Cousinery  i.  115,  116,  and  the  map;  Leake,  iii.  p.  457,  et 
seq.;  Conybeare  and  Howson,  i.  p.  343,  344).  This  name  is  now 
almost  unknown  in  the  country.  Not  to  confound  the  Apollonia 
in  question,  with  the  Apollonia  situated  on  the  coast  between  Neapo- 
lis  and  the  mouth  of  the  Strymon. 
31* 


366  SAINT  PAUL. 

61.  Strabo,  VII.  vii.  4;  Lucian  Lucius,  46 ;  Appien,  Civil  Wars,  VI.  118. 

62.  Acts  xvii.  i. 

63.  Acts  xvii  4. 

64.  I.  Thess.  i.  5,  9,  65.  I.   To  understand  this  passage,  compare  Acts  vi.  8; 

x.  38;  I.  Cor.  v.  4;  xii.  28;  Col.  i.  n. 

65.  I.  Thess.  i.  5. 

66.  See  the  two  epistles  to  the  Thessalonians. 

67.  I.  Thess.  ii.  7,  et  seq. 

68.  I.  Thess.  ii.  1-12. 

69.  I.  Thess.  ii.  5. 

70.  Rom.  xvi.  21.     In  the  sense  of  tivyywrjt,  see  les  Apotres,  p.  108, 

note  6. 

71.  I.  Thess.  ii.  9;  II.  Thess.  iii.  8,  et  seq. 

72.  Phil.  iv.  1 6;  I.  Thess.  ii.  5,  7,  9. 

73.  I.  Thess.  iv.  ii;  II.  Thess.  iii.  10-12. 

74.  See  Vie  de  Jesus,  p.  126,  note. 

75.  II.  Thess.  ii.  5. 

76.  I.  Thess.  i.  7. 

77.  I.  Thess.  i.  8,  9. 

78.  Acts  xix.  29 ;  xx.  4.     Cf.  Corp.  inscr.  gr*,  No.  1967. 

79.  Col.  iv.  10,  ii. 

80.  Acts  xvii.  5,  et  seq.;  I.  Thess.  i.  6;  ii.  2,  14,  et  seq.;  iii.  4. 

81.  Comp.  the  inscription  of  Thessalonica,  Corp.  i.  gr.y  No.  1967. 

82.  Exists  to  this  day  under  this  name  ( Veria,  or  Kara-  Verria}.    Cf.  Cou- 

sinery  i.  57,  et  seq.;  Leake,  iii.  290,  et  seq. 

83.  I.  Thess.  ii.  14,  iii.  3,  5  ;  II.  Thess.  i.  4  ;  et  seq. 

84.  Acts  xvii.  ii. 

85.  Acts  xx.  4;  Rom.  xvi.  21  (Cf.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.,  No.   1967),  upon  the 

meaning  of  GvyyevrfS,  see  p.  120. 

86.  Acts  xvii.  14,  15,  read  soo?. 

87.  Acts  xvi.  13;  xvii.  4. 

88.  ZSefiojusvai,  or 


CHAPTER  VII. 

I.  That  Paul  made  this  voyage  by  sea,  we  learn  from  Acts  xvii.  14,  15. 
To  go  from  Berea  to  Athens  by  land,  it  really  is  not  necessary  to 
come  by  the  coast ;  the  land  route  being  full  of  difficulties  and  by- 
ways; therefore  it  was  more  natural  that  Paul  came  to  Corinth  before 
going  to  Athens.  Paul  probably  embarked  near  Methone.  See 
Strabo  vii.,  fragm.  20-22;  Leake  iii.  435,  et  seq. 


SAINT  PAUL.  367 

2.  It  is  the  route  now  followed;  but  it  is  possible  that  St.  Paul  passed 

around  Eubcea,  according  to  M.  Kiepert. 

3.  Cicero  Epist.  ad  Quint um  fratrem,  i.  i;  Sulpicius  to  Cic.,  Epist.fam., 

iv.  5 ;  Ad  Aft.  v.  10;  vi.  i ;  Tacitus,  Ann.  ii.  53;  Pliny  the  younger, 
Epist.  viii.  24;  Philostratus,  Vie  d'Apoll.,  v.  41;  Vie  de  Sept.  Sev.  3. 

4.  Polybius  xxxvii.  4;  xl.  3;  Cicero,  in  Pisonem,  40;  letter  of  Sulpicius  to 

Cicero,  Ad  /am.,  iv.  5;  Strabo,  VIII.  viii.  i;  IX.  n,  5-25;  iii.  8- 
v.  15;  Plutarch,  De  dcf.  orac.,  5-8;  Pausanias  II.  xviii.  3;  xxxviii 
2;  VII.  xvii.  i;  Jos.  B.  J.,  I.  xxi.  n,  12. 

5.  For  later  traces,  see  Tillemont,  Hist,  des  cmp.  ii.  p.  317. 

6.  Cicero,  ///  Pis.  40.  Cf.  Tacitus,  Ann.  t.  76-80. 

7.  Such  mention  is   frequently  made  in  Pausanias.     Augustus   caused   a 

great  number  of  Statues  to  be  erected ;  especially  around  the  temple 
of  Apollo  Palatinus. 

8.  Ruins  such  as  those  of  Tirynthoe,  Mycenus,  and  Ithome  suffice  to  prove 

it.  Such  ruins  are  not  seen,  except  in  countries  which  have  never 
recovered  from  ancient  disaster. 

9.  See  however,  Wescher  and  Foucart,  Inscr.  rec.  d  Delphes,  Nos.  57  and 

364;  (inscriptions  of  year  180  B.  c.,  or  thereabout)  and  Philo,  Leg. 

§36. 

10.  Plutarch,  Moral  Treatises  in  general;  Dion  Cassius  LXXII.  14.    CL/es 

Apotres,  p.  338,  339. 

11.  Corpus  inscr.  gr.  No.  120;  Arch,  des  miss,  scient.,  second  series,  voL 

IV.  p.  485,  et  seq.  514;  Aug.  Mommsen,  Athena:  Christiana,  p. 
1 20;  Pausanias  i.  xviii.  4;  Appian,  Bell.  Mithrid.  27. 

12.  Plutarch,  Conjugalia  prcec.,  19. 

13.  Acts  xvii.  15. 

14.  Acts  xvii.  16-23. 

15.  Pausanias,  I.  xxii.  et  seq.;  Beula,   VAcropole  d'Athenes,  I.  p.  272,  et 

seq. 

16.  Cic.  In  Verr.  II.  i.  17;  In  Pisonem,  40. 

17.  Beule  VAcropole  d'Ath.  I.  p.  135-336  et  seq.  345;  II.  28,  29,  206  et 

seq.     Comp.  Cicero,  Ad  Att.  VI.  i,  18. 

18.  Dio  Chrysostom,   Oral.  xxxi.  p.  409,  410  (Emperius).     The  description 

of  Pausanias  does  not  complain  of  interruptions.  At  least,  statues 
of  religious  character  were  not  disturbed  in  Athens.  Beule,  I.  320, 
et  seq.  337. 

19.  Fragm.  hist,  grcec.  of  Ch.   Muller,   II.  p.  254;  Philostratus,  Apoll. 

II.  23. 

20.  Acts  xvii.  16,  on  the  meaning  of  %O.TK iS&A.o's.   See  Schleusner,  s.  h.  v. 

21.  Acts  xvii.  22.  Compare  the  inscriptions  of  the  theatre  of  Dionysius  and 

Isocrates,  Panegyr.  33;  Plato,  Deuxieme  Alcib.,  12;  Thucydides 
II.  38;  Pausanias  I.  xvii;  I.  xxiv.  3;  X.  xxviii.  6;  Strabo  IX. 


368  SAINT  PAUL. 

i.  16;  X.  iii.  18;  Joseph,  Contra  Aponiem  II.  37;  Dionys.  of  Halic., 
De  Thucydide  40;  Pliny  the  younger,  Epist.  VIII.  24;  Philostratus, 
Vie  cPApoll.  IV.  xix;  VI.  iii.  5;  the  same,  Epist.  47;  Elian,  Varies 
Hist.  V.  17;  Julian  Misopagon,  p.  348  (Spanheim);  Himerius,  in 
Photius,  cod.  CCXLIII.  p.  356  (Bekker)  p.  9.,  edit.  Didot. 

22.  Titus  Livius,  XLV.  27;  Petronius,  Sat.  c.  17. 

23.  Acts  xvii.  23. 

24.  Pausaniasl.  i.  4;  Philostratus  Vied'Apoll.  VI.  iii.  5;  Diogenes  Laertius, 

I.  x.  110;  CEcumenius.  In  Act.  apost.  Paris  (1631),  p.  136,  137. 
Isidorus  of  Pelusium,  Catena  in  Act.  apost.  of  Cramer  (Oxford  1844)  p. 
292;  Saint  Jerome,  In  Tit.  i,  12;  (col.  420,  Martianay.  )  The  passages  of 
the  false  Lucian,  Philopatris,  9-29,  are  only  an  allusion  to  the  pas- 
sages of  Acts.  We  can  compare  the  inscriptions  of  Rome  :  sei  deo, 
sci  dece  (Orelli,  Nos.  961,  1798,  2135,  2136,  2137,  2270,  2271, 
5054,  5952).  Cf  Aulu-Gelle  II.  28.  The  question  which  was  raised 
at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  upon  the  worship  of  unknown 
saints,  corresponds  with  the  same  order  of  religious  scruples. 

25.  Pausanias  V.  xiv.  8. 

26.  Pausanias  I.  i.  4;  Pollux,  Onom.  Hesychius,  at  the  words  Ayr  COT  £$ 


27.  We  have  never  found  an  inscription  thus  conceived.     The  inscription  to 

an  unknown  God  which  the  Capuchins,  towards  1670,  declared  having 
seen  in  the  Parthenon,  is  an  imposture.  (Spon  sought  it  in  vain  in 
1676;  Voy,  II.  p.  88;  edit,  de  La  Haye,  1724.)  Unless  the  Christians 
had  put  such  an  inscription  at  some  chapel.  The  Parthenon  passed  for 
the  temple  of  the  unknown  god.  See  Laborde,  Athenes  aux  XV? 
XVI?  et  XVII?  siocles  I.  24,  note  50,  note  78,  note  217,  note. 
233  et  seq.;  Ross,  Archeeol.  Aufscetze,  I.  253,  273,  et  seq.;  Aug. 
Mommsen,  Athenes  Christiana;^  p.  33,  et  seq. 

28.  See  the  passages  of  Diogenes  Laertes,  precited. 

29.  Saint  Justin,  Apol.  II.  10,  seemed  to  have  made  allusion  to  the  same 

idea,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  he  takes  it  in  Acts.  Cf.  Irenseus  Adv.  Jicer.  I. 
xx.  3.  Had  that  been  the  sense,  the  inscription  had  offered:  Gsco 
dyrootfrG),  and  not  Ayvti)6TGp  $£&.  Cf.  Saint  Jerome,  In  Tit, 
i.  12. 

30.  Acts  xvii.  27.     Comp.  Rom.  i.  20,  et  seq.;  Justin,  Apol.  II.  10. 

31.  Lucan  II.  592-93.     Cf,  Philo,  Leg.  ad  Caiitm,  §  44. 

32.  Acts  xvii.  23-28.     See  p.  137. 

33.  It  is  probable,  in  fact,  that  Cleanthes  and  Artus  borrowed  it  from  some 

older  hymns,  which  were  in  the  mouths  of  all. 

34.  Tacitus,  Ann*  II.  55. 

35.  Dion  Cassius,  XLVII.  20;  Plutarch,  Brutus,  24. 

36.  Tacitus,  Ann.  II.  53  and  55.     See  Velleius  Paterculus,  II.  23. 


SAINT  PAUL.  369 

37.  Appian,  Bell.  Mithrid.,  38,  et  seq.;  Plutarch,  Vie  de  Sylla,  14;  Vel- 

leius  Paterculus,  II.  23. 

38.  Strabo,  IX.  i.  20;  Cic.  In  Pis.  16;  Tacitus,  Ann.  II.  53;  Pliny,  Hist.  nat. 

IV.  11;  Pliny  Epist.  VIII.  24;  Dio  Chrys.  CW/.  xxxi.  p  396 
(Emperius);  /Elius  Aristides,  Roma  encomium,  p.  363,  364  (Dindorf); 
Panathen,  p.  298;  year  66  Nero  liberated  all  the  Greeks;  year  73 
Vespaisian  reduced  Achai'a  to  a  Roman  province;  nevertheless 
Athens  retained  its  immunities  of  a  free  city. 

39.  See  particularly  the  letter  of  Pliny  the  younger  to  Maximus  leaving  for 

Acha'ia  (Epist.  VIII.  24.) 

40.  Cf.  Corpus  inscr.  gr.  No.  3831. 

41.  Cic.  de  Or  at  ore  I.  n;  Acad.  prior  um  n,  entire. 

42.  Plutarch,  Vie  de  Brutus,  24. 

43.  Horace  Epist.  II.  ii.  44-45;  Cic.  Adfam.  xvi  21. 

44.  Suetonius,  Nero,  52. 

45.  The  collection  of  ephebic  inscriptions  made  by  M.  Wescher  leaves  a 

complete  void  for  the  first  centuiy.  See,  however,  the  3>i\.i6TG)pj 
vol.  IV.  p.  332. 

46.  Strabo,  IV.  15. 

47.  Plut.  De  El  apud  Delphos,  i,etseq. ;  Eunapius  Vita:  soph,  prooem.  p.  5 

(Boissonade.) 

48.  Beule  I.  322,  340,  and  the  surroundings;  II.  206,  et  seq.;  301,  305,  Cf. 

Corp.  inscr.  gr.  309,  et  seq. ;  363,  et  seq. ;  Berichte  del  sacks.  Gesell. 
philol.  Classe,  XII.  p.  218,  et  seq. 

49.  Beule  II.  p.  206,  et  seq. 

50.  Nos.  99,  et  381,  of  Pittakis,   Ecpr)HEpi$  apxaioXoyinq,  1838,  p. 

240;  and  1840,  p.  318. 

51.  Beule  II.  p.  207. 

52.  A  large  number  of  offerings  and  inscriptions  of  the  Acropolis  belong  to 

this  time.     Beule  I.  322,  339,  et  seq.;  I.  206,  et  seq.;  301,  305. 

53.  Strabo,  IX.  i.  20;  Plut.  Vie  de  Sylla,  14;  Floras,  Epitome  II.  39. 

54.  Cicero,  Ad  Att.  VI.  i. 

55.  Appian,  Civ.  War,  II.  70. 

56.  Plutarch,  Life  of  Pompey,  42. 

57.  Appian,  Civ.  Wars,  II.  88. 

58.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  Nos.  312,  477. 

59.  Appian,  Civ.   Wars,  V.  7.  76;  Plut.  -Life  of  Antony  33,  34. 

60.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  Nos.  312,  477. 

6 1.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  Nos.  309,  et  seq.;  365,  et  seq. 

62.  Strabo,  IX.  i.  20. 

63.  Tacitus,  Ann.  II.  53. 

64.  Suetonius,  Nero,  56. 

65.  Suetonius,    Nero,    34;    Dion   Cassius,  LXIII.    14;   Cf.    Pausanias  I. 

xxviii  6. 


370  SAINT  PAUL. 

66.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  No.  362;  Cf.  Plut.  Quasi,  symp.  I.  x.  I. 

67.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.   Nos.  265,  357-362;  Jos.  B.  J.  I.  xxi.  n;  Vitruvius 

V.  ix.  i;  Suetonius,  Aug.,  60. 

68.  See  especially  Lysistrata  750,  et  seq. 

69.  Plutarch,  Life  of  Demetrius,  23,  24. 

70.  Plut.  LifeofSylla,  13. 

71.  Letter  of  Marcus-Aurelius  to  Fronto,  III.  9  (Mar.  p.  73);  Dion  Cass. 

LXXII.  31;  Julius  Capitolinus,  Life  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  27;  Phi- 
lostr.  Life  of  Sept.  Sev.,  13. 

72.  Plut.  Life  of  Sylla,  13;  Cornelius  Nepos,  Atticus,  2,  4;  Horace  Epist. 

II.  ii.  43,  et  seq.;  Cicero,  In  C<zdl.t  12;  Cf.  Athenaeus,  XII.  69, 
Wescher,  in  the  Moniteur  Universe i ',  April  13,  1861. 

73.  Cicero,  Ad  Att.  XII.  32;.  Ad  /am.  XII.  16;  XVI.  21;  £>*  off.  I.  i; 

Dion  Cassius,  XLV.  15;  Ovid,  7>w/.  I.  ii.  77. 

74.  Cicero,  Ad  fam.   XVI.  21;  Lucian,  Nigrinus,   13,  et  seq.;  Dialogues 

des  morts,  xx.  5;  Philostratus  Apoll.  IV.  17. 

75.  C0r/.    z'tfjrr.   £V.,   Nos.   246,    254,    255,    258,   261,    262,   263,    265, 

266,  268,  269,  270,  271,  272,  275,  276,  277,  279,  280,  281,  282, 
286;  Ecprjfj-spiS  apxiohoyiKT)  of  Pittakis,  1860,  Nos.  4041,  et 
seq.;  4097,  et  seq.;  1862,  (new  series),  Nos.  199-204,  214-217. 
fpihidroop  (literary  journal  of  Athens),  vol.  III.  p.  60,  150,  277, 
350,  444,  549;  vol.  IV.  p.  73,  164,  171,  265,  392,  458,  545,  et  seq.; 
especially  332,  et  seq. ;  Wescher  at  Comptes  rendus  de  VAcad.  des 
inscr.  5th  April,  1861,  and  to  \h& Moniteur  Univ.,  23th  April,  1861. 

76.  See  bas  reliefs  ephebiques  of  the  Museum  of  the  Archeological  Society, 

in  the  buildings  of  the  University  of  Athens. 

77.  Cic.  Ad.  fam.  XVI.  21,  recalls  the  role  of  Polybiusin  Roman  society  of 

his  time. 

78.  For  example,  young  Cicero.     See  Brut,   ad  Cic.  II.  3. 

79.  Plutarch,  Vie  de  Brutus,  24;  Horace,  Carm.,  II.  vii.  9,  10;  Epist.  II. 

ii.  46,  et  seq.;  Brut,  ad  Cic.  II.  3. 

80.  Actsxvii.  21.     Comp.  Demosth.  I.  Phil.  4;  XI.  Phil,  (in  Epist.  Phil.) 

17  (Vcemel);  Elian,  V.  H.  V.  13;  Scoliast  of  Thucydides,  III.  38; 
Scol.  of  Aristophanes,  Plutus,  338. 

81.  Himerius,  Ecloga,  iii.  ex  Photio,  cod.  CCXLIII.  (p.  8-n,  edit.  Didot). 

82.  Consequence  of  Acts  xvii.  14;  xviii.  5;  I.  Thess.  iii.  i,  2. 

83.  Acts  17;  Cf.  Philo.  Leg.  §  36;  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  No.  9900. 

84.  Actsxvii.  17. 

85.  Acts  xvii.    19,  20.     In  the  second  century  the  resurrection  is  still  an 

objection  to  Christianity.  See  Athenagoras  (of  Athens)  On  the  Re- 
surrection of  the  Dead. 

86.  It  is  thus  that   the   Greek   interpreters,    Chrysostom,  Theophylactus, 

CEcumenius,  understood  verse  18. 


SAINT  PAUL.  371 

87.  Cf .  H.  Etienne.  Thes.  at  this  word. 

88.  Edict  of  Justinian. 

89.  See  p.  307,  318. 

90.  Val.  Max.  II.  vi.  3;  Tac.  Ann.  II,  55;  Aulus  Gellius,  XII.  7;  Am.  Mar. 

XXIX.  II,  19. 

91.  Val.  Max.  VIII.  i.  amb.  2;  Aulus  Gellius,  xii.  7;  Cic.  Pro  Balbo,  12 ; 

^Elius  Aristides,  Panathen.  p.  314  (Dindorf). 

92.  Cicero,  De  nat.  deowm,  ii.  29;  Pausanias,  I.  xxviii.  5,  8;  Plutarch, 

An  sent  sit  ger.  resp.  20;   Corp.  inscr.  gr.  Nos.  480,  3831. 

93.  HBovXr)  rj  e§  Apeiovndyov,  rf  BovX.r}  roar  e^aKotii&v ,  6  drj/Lioti. 

See  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  Nos.  263,  313,  315,  316,  318,  320,  361,  370, 
372,  377.  378,  379.  3So,  381,  397.  400,  402,  406,  415,  416,  4*7» 
420,  421,  422,  426,  427,  433,  438,  444,  445,  446,  480,  3831;  these 
Nos.  84,  104,  146,  149,  333,  363,  726,  and  729  (cf.  727  and  728), 
1008,  1010,  of  Pittakis,  in  the  Eqrqjuepid  apxaio^oyix^  of 
Athens,  1838,  1839,  1840,  1841,  1842.  No.  726  is  anterior  to 
the  Christian  Era ;  the  Areopagus  alone  erected  the  statue.  The 
Nos.  333  and  726  are  anterior  to  the  Roman  dominion,  and  prove 
that  the  Areopagus,  from  an  ancient  period,  had  the  right  of  erect- 
ing statues.  See  also  Rangabe,  Hellenic  Antiquities,  II.  No.  1178; 
Ross,  Demen.  inscr.  Nos.  141,  163,  165;  Berichte  der  sacks  Gesell- 
schaft  der  Wiss.  Cl.  XII.  p.  218;  QiXdirayp,  vol.  III.  p.  60,  363, 
364,  463,  564,  565;  vol.  IV.  p.  83,  171;  Ann.  of  the  Arch.  Inst. 
vol.  xxxiv.p.  139,  without  mentioning  one  or  two  unpublished  inscrip- 
tions. 

94.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  No.  361. 

95.  Plutarch,  Life  of  Cic.  24  Himerius,  in  Photius,  cod.  ccxliii.  p.  365,  366. 

edit.  Bekker ;  Quintilian,  V.  ix.  13. 

96.  Lysias,  Areopagitica  or  pro  sacra  olea  entire ;    Demosth.  (?),  Contra 

Neera,  §  80  et  seq.  Eschines,  Contra  Timarcus,  81.  et  seq.  Dio- 
genes Laertes,  II.  viii.  15;  xi.  5;  VII.  v.  2;  Xenophon,  Mem.  III. 
v.  20;  Cic.  Epist.  ad  fam.  xiii.  I  ;  Ad  Att.  v.  n;  De  divin.  i.  25. 
Athenoeus,  iv.  64,  65;  vi.  46;  xiii.  21;  Plut.  De plac.  phil.  I.  vii.  2; 
Corps,  inscr.  gr.  No.  123;  Ross,  Demcn.  inscr.  No.  163. 

97.  Comp.  Josephus,  Contra  Apion,  ii.  37,  and  Lysias,  fragm.  175  (Orat. 

attici  of  Didot).  Nothing  in  the  recital  of  Acts  implies  that  Paul 
was  the  object  of  a  judicial  action  before  the  tribunal.  However,  the 
words  tTtiXaflof-isvoi  rjyayor,  of  the  v.  19,  show  clearly  that  in  the 
intention  of  the  narrator  the  mention  of  the  Areopagus  is  simply  an 
indication  of  place.  Besides,  it  is  probable  that  at  the  Roman  epoch 
the  name  of  "Areopagus"  had  no  longer  topographic  force.  The 
narrow  rock  in  the  open  air  which  bore  this  name  must  have  seemed 
very  unsuitable.  They  substituted  some  edifice  (Vitruvius  II.  L  5),  or, 


372  SAINT  PAUL. 

rather,  they  transferred  the  institution  to  the  Royal  Portico,  to  the 
Basilica  (Demosth.)  I.  contra  Aristog.  §  23,  situated  near  the  hill. 
*In  spite  of  this  translation,  the  name  of  "Areopagus"  could  remain, 
as  in  our  day,  at  Athens,  to  designate  a  "tribunal  of  the  Rota;" 
"court  of  the  Arches,"  etc.,  were  formerly  justified,  but  are  so  no 
longer. 

98.  Luke,  who  is  not  a  stranger  to  rhetoric,  probably  arranged  a  little  the 

mise  en  scene  and  the  attitude  of  his  orator.  The  discourse  cannot 
be  considered  as  authentic  as  if  stenographed  by  an  auditor,  or  written 
immediately  after  by  him  who  delivered  it.  We  see  in  the  narrator  a 
true  Athenian  sentiment,  which  suggests  to  him  some  points  appro- 
priate to  his  auditors ;  but,  after  all,  it  is  not  impossible  that  Paul 
obeyed  the  oratorical  necessities  of  the  time.  The  idea  of  the 
"unknown  God,"  and  the  quotation  of  Aratus  might  be  familiar  to 
the  apostles.  Timothy,  besides,  was  at  Athens  with  Paul,  and  might 
have  remembered  all  this.  The  style  of  the  piece  is  not  unlike  Paul ; 
for  the  ideas  compare  Rom.  i. 

99.  Comp.  Jos.  Contra  Apion,  I.  12.  deitfiSaijuovstfrepovZ  ought  to  be 

taken  in  good  part,  as  St.  John  Chrysostom  has  seen.  Cf.  Pollux, 
i.  21.  See  Schleusner,  s.  h.  v. 

100.  This  verse  is  found  in  Aratus,  Phccnom.  5,  and  in  Cleanthus,  Hymn 

to  Jupiter,  5. 

101.  Compare  Seneca,  Epist.  xcv.  51,  et  seq;  De  Beneficiis,  iv.  19;  Dion. 

Chrysostom,  orat.  XII.  p.  231,  232  (edit.   Emperius);  Porphyrus, 
ad  Marcellam,  ch.  II,  18. 

102.  Now  deposited  at  the  museum  of  the  Archeological  Society,  in  the 

buildings  of  the  University  of  Athens.    See  ApxaioXoyinr}  zcpi^iE- 
pi<3,  1862,  pi.  xxx.  xxxi.  xxxiii. 

103.  See,  especially,  the  (piMtfroop,  iv.  p.  332,  et  seq.     Comp.  of  other 

inscriptions,  ibid,  and  note  75,  chap.  vii. 

104.  I.  Thess.  ii.  17  et  seq. 

105.  I.  Thess.  iii.  3,  5. 

1 06.  I.  Thess.  iii.  i,  et  seq. 

107.  Recall,  above  all,  the  beautiful  little  Byzantine  churches  of  Athens. 

108.  See,  as  a  type  of  this,  the  descriptions  of  the  festivities  of  the  first  of 

May,  which  appear  annually  in  the  Athenian  journals ;  for  example, 
the  nakiyyevEdia,  and  the  E5roil>vA.a£  of  the  year  1865. 

109.  See  the  collection  of  Fauriel  and  of  Passow.     Note  especially  the  role 

of  Charon,  of  the  Tartarus,  etc. 
no.  In  the  fifteenth  century,   Gemist   Plethous  in  our  day,  Theophilus 

Cairi. 

in.  Recall  Corai. 
H2.  I.  Thess.  iii.  6. 


SAINT  PAUL.  373 

1 13.  There  is  no  epistle  of  Paul  "  to  the  Athenians,"  nor  any  mention  of  the 

church  of  Athens  in  the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians.  In  his  third 
voyage  Paul  does  not  touch  at  Athens. 

114.  Acts  xvii.  34;  Dionysius  of  Corinth,  in  Eusebius,  II.  E.  iv.  23.     The 

slightly  legendary  character  of  what  the  Acts  relates  on  the  sojourn 
of  Paul  at  Athens  leaves  some  doubts  on  all  this.  'Apeoitayfi- 
T>/S  always  designates  a  member  of  the  tribunal,  a  personage  of  dig- 
nity. Areopagita  was  a  title  respected,  and  sought  afcer  in  the 
whole  world.  (See  the  texts  before  quoted,  especially  Cic. ;  Pro. 
Balbo,  12;  Trebellius  Pollio,  Gallienus  n;  Corpus  inscr.  gr. 
No.  372.)  It  is  hard  to  believe  that  a  person  of  this  rank  was 
converted. 

1 15.  A  singular  name,  perhaps,  for  AduaXiS,  a  name  borne  by  some  Athenian 

women.  Pape.  Wcert.  der  griech.  Eigennamen,  s.  h.  v.  Cf.  Horace, 
Carm.  I.  xxxvi.  13,  et  seq. ;  Heuzey,  Miss,  de  Maced.  p.  136. 
Perhaps,  also,  Damaris  is  a  Semitic  name.  Several  Phenician  in- 
scriptions have  been  found  at  Athens,  and  at  Pirus. 

1 1 6.  Dionysius  of  Corinth,  /.  c. 

117.  See   the  discourse   of  Julian,  Ad  S.   P.  2.     Atheniensem,    and   the 

Misopogon,  p.  348  (Spanheim). 

118.  St.  Gregory  of  Naz.,  Orat.  xliii.  14,  15,  21,  23,  24;   Carm.  p.  634, 

636,  1042  (Caillau);  Synesius  Epist.  liv.  (p.  190,  Petau)  Marinus, 
Life  of  Proclus,  10.  Malala,  XVIII.  p.  451  (Boun). 

119.  Ala  Vasili  is  the  Stoa  vasilios;  the  church  of  the  twelve  apostles,  the 

temple  of  the  twelve  gods ;  Ai'a  Paraskevi  the  Pompeion,  Rangabe, 
in  the  memorie  dell,  Institutodi  corr.  arch.,  vol.  II.  (1865),  p.  346, 
et  seq.;  Aug.  Mommsen,  Athena  Christiana,  p.  4,  5,  50,  51,  61,  99, 
145.  As  contrast,  compare  Libanus,  where  the  destruction  of  Pa- 
ganism was  violent  and  instantaneous.  Although  the  remains  of 
antique  temples  are  encountered  at  every  step,  we  find  no  examples 
there  of  such  close  contact. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

1.  The  place  is  now  almost  a  desert.     There  are  some  remains  of  the 

works    of  the   port.     The   old  name  (Kechrices)  is  preserved.    Cf. 
Curtius,  Peloponnesus,  p.  537,  et  seq. 

2.  The  actual  valley  of  Hexamili. 

3.  The  site  of  old  Corinth  is  now  almost  abandoned.     The  city  was  rebuilt 

a  league  and  a  half  from  there,  on  the  Gulf  of  Patras. 

4.  Plutarch  does  not  consider  it  as  such,  De  def.  oract.  8. 

32 


374  SAINT  PAUL. 

5.  Strabo,  VIII.   vi.   22,  23;  Pausanias,  II.  i.  2.     Corinth  presents  only 

one  ruin  of  Hellenic  construction. 

6.  Strabo,  VIII.  vi.  23;  Aristides,  Or.  III.  p.  37,  et  seq.  edit.  Dindorf. 

7.  See  the  inscriptions  of  Corinth,  in  the  Corpus  inscr.  gr.,  No.  1104 

et  seq. 

8.  Pausanius  II.  i.  2;  v.  i.  2. 

9.  Lucian,  Demonax,  57;   Corpus  inscr.  gr.  No.  1106. 

10.  Athenoeus  (VI.  103),  counts  there  460,000  slaves. 

11.  Aristoph,    Plut^^s,   V.    149;    Horace    Ep.    I.  xvii.    36;  Juvenal   Sat. 

viii.  113;  Maximus  of  Tyr.  Dissert.  III.  10;  Dio  Chrysos.  orat. 
XXXVII.  p.  530-534;  (Emp.)  Athenseus  VII.  13;  XIII.  21,  32,  54; 
Cic.  De  rep.  II.  4;  Alciphron;  Epist.  III.  60;  Strabo,  VIII.  vi.  20, 
21;  XII.  iii.  36;  Horace,  Sat.  I.  xvii.  36;  Eustathius,  Ad  Il\aus\. 
v.  570;  Elian  His.  var.  I.  19;  Aristides  op.  cit.  p.  39;  Hesychius  at 
the  word  -^opiv^noL^iv. 

12.  This  is  seen  from  the  moral  treatises  of  Plutarch ;  especially  of  Pr<zc. 

ger.  reip.  An  seni  sit  ger.  resp.  Consolatio  ad  uxorem,  Conjiigalia 
prcec.  Amatoritts,  De  frat.  amore. 

13.  Acrocorinth  is  much  like  Mount  Eryx  in  Sicily. 

14.  Strabo  VIII.  vi.  20,  21. 

15.  Philo.  Leg.  §  36. 

1 6.  Strabo  VIII.  vi.  22. 

1 7.  Acts  xviii.  2. 

18.  Strabo  VIII.  vi.  22,  23;  Aristides  op.  cit.   p.  38;  Koivr)  itavrKtv 

Xarrjfpvyrf,  .  .  .  odoSKai  Sooi£^odo(3  aTGOvjtov  a V5 p&n GOV. 

19.  Acts  xviii.  2,  3. 

20.  I.  Thess.  ii.  14;  iii.  6,  7;  II.  Thess.  i.  4,  et  seq. 

21.  I.  Thess.  iv.  10. 

22.  Acts  xviii.  5;  I.  Thess.  i.  i;  iii.  6;  II.  Thess.  i.  i;  II.  Cor.  i.  19. 

23.  Acts  xviii.  4,  et  seq. 

24.  I.  Cor.  i.  1 6;  xvi.  15-17. 

25.  Comp.  Acts  xix.  9. 

26.  I.  Cor.  i.  14-16. 

27.  I.  Cor.  xii.  2. 

28.  Acts  xviii.  9,  10. 

29.  I.  Thess.  i.  7-9. 

30.  I.  Cor.  ii.  4,  5. 

31.  II.  Cor.  xii.  12. 

32.  II.   Cor.  i.  i. 

33.  I.  Cor.  i.  11-14;  xvi.  17;  Rom.  xvi.  23;  II.  Tim.  iv.  20. 

34.  Titus  iii.  13.     Zenas  is  there  associated  with  Apollos.     It  is  supposed 

that  the  letter  to  Titus  was  written  from  Corinth. 

35.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  15,  1 6-1 8. 


SAINT  PAUL.  375 

36.  I.  Cor.  L  20-26,  et  seq. 

37.  Strabo,  VIII.  vl  22. 

38.  Pausanias  II.  ii.  3;  Curtius  Peloponnesus,  p.  538,  594;  Millingen  Rec. 

djayelques  medailles  grecques,  p.  47,  48;  pL  H.  No.  19. 
9.  Ro^sVxvi.  i,  2. 

40.  Amt  xviii.  4,  et  seq.;  perhaps  even  longer,  if  the  lapse  of  time  indicated 

in  verse  18  should  be  added  to  that  mentioned  in  v.  n. 

41.  I.  Cor.  ii.  3. 

42.  I.  Thess.  i.  7,  et  seq.;  II.  Thess.  i.  4. 

I.  Cor.  ix.  4,  et  seq.;  II.  Cor.  xi.  8.  et  seq.;  xii.  13,  14,  16;  Phil.  iv.  15. 

44.  I.  Thess.  ii.  14,  16;  II.  Thess.  L  6,  8;  II.  Cor.  iii.  14-16. 

45.  Suetonius,  Claudius,  25. 

46.  Seneca  the  rhetorician,  Controv.  II.  ii.  etc.;  preface  of  books  I.  III. 

IV;  Ovid  Pont,  IV.  ix. 

47.  Seneca,  De  ira,  init,  De  Vita  beatta,  init,  Qucest  natur,  IV.;  prsef.  V. 

ii.;  Epist.  CIV;  Consol,  ad  Marciam,  Statius  Silvcz  II.  vii-32;  Pliny 
Hist.  nat.  XXXI.  33;  Tac.  Ann.  VI.  3;  XV.  73;  XVI.  17;  Dion 
Cassius,  LXI.  20;  Eusebius  Chron.  in  the  tenth  year  of  Nero. 

48.  Seneca  Quast.  natur.  V.  ii. 

49.  Dion  Cassius  LX.  35. 

50.  Pliny  the  younger,  Epistles  VIII.  24. 

51.  Dion  Cassius,  LXII.  25;  Eusebius,  Chron.  1.  c. 

52.  Acts  XVIII.  12,  et  seq. 

53.  Acts  xviii.  14,  15. 

54.  Acts  XVIII.  17;  the  words  oi  E^qveS  are  missing  in  the  best  manu- 

scripts. 

55.  II.  Thess.  iii.  i,  2.     Compare  the  two  epistles  to  the  Corinthians.     See 

p.  173,  et  seq. 

56.  I.  Thess.  ii.  17,  18;  iii.  6-10. 

57.  II.  Thess.  iii.  i,  2. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

1.  II.  Cor.  xi.  2. 

2.  Ibid. 

3.  I.  Cor.  vii.  10,  12,  25,  40. 

4.  I.  Thess.  i.  6;  Philipp.  iii.  17;  iv.  9. 

5.  Cicero,  Adfamil.  iii.  9;  xv.  17;  xvi.  5,  21;  Ad  Attic,  i.  5;  iii.  7;  Pliny, 

Epist.  ii.  12;  viii.  3;  ix.  28;  Seneca  Epist.  I.;  Forcellini,  word  tabel- 
larius\  Naudet  in  the  Mem  de  /'  Acad.  des  inscr.  vol.  xxiii.  2d  part,  p. 
166,  et  seq. 


376  SAINT  PAUL. 

6.  See  the  2d  book  of  Maccabees,  I.  i,  et  seq.;  10,  et  seq.;  Baruch,  c.   VI, 

( Apocr. ) 

7.  Comp.  the  iggeret  or  risalet,  that  the  synagogues  applied  among  them- 

selves in  respect  to  divers  points  of  doctrine  or  ceremony  under 
discussion. 

8.  II.  Thess.  ii.  2,  14;  iii.  14. 

9.  I.  Thess.  v.  27. 

10.  Col.  iv.  16,  Comp.  I.  Cor.  i.  2;  II.  Cor.  i.  i.     On  the  epistles  said  to 

be  to  the  Ephesians,  and  even  that  to  the  Romans,  see  Introduction, 
page  14  and  44,  et  seq. 

11.  Dion,  of  Cor.  in  Eus.  H.  E.  iv.  23. 

12.  Justin  Apol.  i.  67,  is  a  more  advanced  century. 

13.  Papias,  in  Eusebius,  H.  E.  iii.  39. 

14.  Rom.  xvi.  22. 

15.  Rom.  xvi.  22.      The  passages  Philemon  19,  and    Gal.   vi.  n,  do  not 

imply  that  these  two  letters  were  altogether  autograph  j  that  would 
be,  at  any  rate,  exceptional. 

1 6.  For  example,  Rom.  ii.  14,  15;  I.  Cor.  viii.  1-3;  Gal.  ii.  6,  7;  vi.  i.  Cf. 

Cic.  Ad  Aft.  v.  i.  As  to  the  appearance  of  a  letter  of  Paul's,  see 
Papyrus  grecs  du  Louvre  et  de  la  Bible  imp.  in  the  Notices  et  ex- 
traits,  vol.  XVIIL,  second  part  pi.  VI.  et  seq.  or  pi.  xvii.  (pap. 
18  bis.)  or  pi.  XLVI.  or  pi.  LII. 

17.  For  example,  navxaojuai  and  its  derivatives,  in  the  two  Epistles  to 

the  Corinthians. 

18.  II.  Thess.  ii.  2;  Dionysius  of  Cor.  in  Eus.  H.  E.  iv.  23. 

19.  Gal.  vi.  ii. 

20.  II.  Thess.  iii.  17;  I.  Cor.  xvi.  21;  Col.  iv.  18,  Comp.  Gal.  vi.  n,  Cf. 

Cic.  Ad  Att.  viii.  I.  Suetonius  Tib.  21,  32;  Dion  Cassius,  Iviii.  ii; 
Cavedoni,  Le  Salut.  delle  Epist.  di  S.  Paolo  (extracts  of  vol.  XVII, 
of  the  third  part  of  Mem.  di  reglig.  etc.,  printed  at  Modena),  p.  12, 
et  seq. 

21.  II.  Thess.  ii.  2,  14;  iii.  14-17;  I.  Cor.  v.  9;  xvi.  i,  3;  II.  Cor.  x.  9, 

et  seq.;  xi.  28;  Col.  iv.  10,  16.  The  collection,  the  edition  if  we 
can  express  it  thus,  of  Saint  Paul's  letters  was  not  made  before  the 
year  150  or  160.  Papias  and  St.  Justin  had  no  knowledge  of  the 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul.  < 

I' 22.  Xapry?,  II.  John  12,  II.  Tim.  iv.  13,  does  not  prove  that  the  epistles 
were  written  on  parchment.  Parchment  served  particularly  for 
books. 

23.  Clem.  Roman,  Epist.  I.  ad  Cor.  47 ;  Polycarp,  Ad  Phil.  3,  Ignatius, 

Ad  Ephes.  12. 

24.  Dionysius  of  Cor.  cited  by  Eus.  H.  E.  iv.  23. 

25.  St.  Peter,  or  the  author  of  I.  Peter,  whoever  he  may  be,  had  read  or 

had  before  their  eyes  the  Epistles  to  the  Romans,  the  Epistle  said  to 


SAINT  PAUL.  377 

be  to  the  Ephesians,  and  the  other  Epistles  of  St.  Paul.  The  au- 
thentic epistles,  or  apocryphal  of  Clement  Roman,  of  Ignatius,  of 
Polycarp,  present  also  reminiscences  of  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul. 
Clem.  Rom.  Epist.  ad  Cor.  24,  32,  34,  35,  37 ;  Ignatius,  Ad  Magnes. 
10,  Ad  Ephcs.  18;  Ad  Roni.  3,  7;  Ad  Phlad.  i;  Ad  Smyrn.  6; 
Polycarp  Ad  Philipp.,  very  often. 

26.  I.  Cor.  vii.  i;  viii.  i;  xvi.  17;  Phil.  iv.  10,  et  seq. 

27.  The  superscriptions  and  the  contents  of  these  letters,  permit  no  doubt 

on  this  point. 

28.  That  is  certain,  for  the  first.    Comp.  I.  Thess.  i.  7,  8;  iii.  6;  Acts  xviii. 

5.  It  has  been  sometimes  supposed  that  the  second  was  written  from 
Berea.  But  II.  Thess.  i.  4;  ii.  2;  iii.  n,  show  that  Paul  had  left 
Thessalonica  some  time  before  writing  this  epistle. 

29.  The  second  seemed  to  have  been  written  first.     The  rule  followed  in 

the  classification  of  St.  Paul's  letters  bearing  the  same  address,  has 
always  been  to  give  the  first  place. to  the  longest. 

30.  I.  Thess.  ii.  7. 

31.  I.  Thess.  ii.  ii. 

32.  I.  Thess.  ii.  5;  iii.  10. 

33.  II.  Thess.  iii.  4. 

34.  I.  Thess,  ii.  i,  et  seq. 

35.  I.  Thess.  i.  6;  II.  Thess.  iii.  7,  9.     Comp.  Gal.  iv.  12;  I.  Cor.  iv.  16; 

x.  33;xi.  i. 

36.  Justin,  Apol.  i.  6,  7. 

37.  I.  Thess.  i.  6 ;  iii.  4 ;  II.  Thess.  i.  4,  et  seq. 

38.  Weak  however,  for  in  I.  Cor.  xii.  28,  et  seq.,  Paul  knew  but  one  superior 

in  title,  "the  apostle."  The  faithful  are  classed  by  the  spiritual  gift 
which  they  exercised. 

39.  I.  Thess.  v.  12,  13. 

40.  II.  Cor.  i.  24. 

41.  IIpetifivrEpoi.    Cf.  the    Jewish  inscriptions,    Corp.  inscr.  gr.y   No. 

9897,  9902  (y£pov6iapxr}$.) 

42.  Xeiporovia.     See  especially  II.  Cor.  viii.  19. 

43.  Acts  xiv.  23. 

44.  Acts  xx.  28.       » 

45.  EititixoTtoi.     Acts  xx.  28 ;  Philipp.  i.  i,  (and  the  explanations  of  St. 

John  Chrysostom  and  of  Theodoret  on  this  last  passage) ;  I.  Tim. 
iii.  2;  Titus  i.  5,  (St.  Jerome  on  this  passage,)  7.  IIp£(jfivrF.po$ 
and  tTTitixoxoSj  are  in  the  first  century,  synonyms.  To  translate 
these  words  by  "priest,"  or  "bishop,"  is  as  incorrect  as  to  translate 
imperator  "emperor,"  when  it  referred  to  the  Roman  republic. 
Comp.  Acts  xx.  17,  28. 
32* 


378  SAINT  PAUL. 

46.  See  les  Apotres,  p.  352,  353.     On  the  episcopi,  municipal  magistrates, 

see  Waddington,  Explic.  des  inscr.  of  Le  Bas.  III.  Nos.  1989,  1990, 
2298. 

47.  Acts  xx.  28,  Cf.  I.  Peter  n.  25. 

48.  Gal.  vi.  6. 

49.  I.  Thess.  v.  14;  Gal.  v.  I,  et  seq. 

50.  Cf.  the  Pastor  of  Hermas.   vis.  II.;  mand.  IV.;  simil.  VII.  VIII.  X. 

51.  The  Epistles  to  Timothy,  which  present  them,  are  suppositional  writ- 

ings, and  of  a  later  date. 

52.  Compare  the  nezifa  or  admonition  in  the  synagogue,  among  the  Jews. 

53.  II.  Thess.  iii.  6,  14,  15;  GaL  vi.  i;  I.  Cor.  v.  13;  II.  Cor.  ii.  6,  et  seq. 

54.  I.  Thess.  v.  16;  PhiL  ii.  I,  18;  iii.  i;  iv.  4. 

55.  Rom.  i.  18,  et  seq.;  Ephes.  iv.  17-19;  v.  12;  I.  Peter  iv.  3. 

56.  Comp.  Mischna.  Gittin.  v.  9,  and  the  two  Gemares,  on  this  passage. 

57.  II.  Cor.  vi.  14,  viL  i,  express  a  contrary  opinion.     But  this  passage, 

not  connected  with  that  which  precedes  or  that  which  follows,  ex- 
cites suspicions.  It  may,  besides,  be  a  precept  appropriate  to  the 
particular  situation  of  the  Corinthians. 

58.  I.  Cor.  xv.   29;  Tertullian  De  re^iirr.,carnis,  48;  Adv.  Marc.v.  10; 

Epiph.  hsear.  xxviii.  7 ;  John  Chrys.  I.  Cor.  xv.  29.  Compare  for 
the  analogous  ceremonies  of  the  Mormons,  Remy.  Voy.  au  pays  des 
Mormons,  p.  37,  et  seq. 

59.  I.  Cor.  vii.  14,  Compare  Actes  de  sainte  Perpetue,  second  vision. 

60.  I.  Thess.  iv.  1-8,  Cf.  the  Pastor  of  Hermas,  mand.  IV. 

61.  See  for  example,  the  Pastor  of  Hermas,  vis.  I.  and  II.;  simiL  ix.  2, 

Comp.  Eusebius,  H.  E.  vii.  30. 

62.  Tatian,  Adv.  Gr.  33 ;  Minutius  Felix,  Oct.  8,  9 ;  Orig.  Contra  Celsus, 

iii.  §  55 ;  Cyrill,  Adv.  Jul.  p.  229  (Paris  1638).  Cf.  of  Rossi.  Bull. 
1864,  p.  72. 

63.  Tertullian,  De  ciiltii  feminarwn  entire,  and  especially  Ad  uxorem,  ii. 

3,  and  De  virginibus  velandis,  16,  taking  into  consideration  the  ex- 
aggerated austerity  peculiar  to  this  writer. 

64.  Passages  cited  from  Tatian,   from  Origen,  and  from  St.   Cyril.      Cf. 

the  Pastor  of  Hermas,  vis.  ii.  4. 

65.  I.  Cor.  vii.  i,  et  seq.;  Justin,  Apol.  i.  15;  Athenagoras,  Leg.  33;  Ter- 

tullian, Apol.  9,  Orig.;  Contra  Celsits,  I.  §,  26.  See  all  the  legends 
of  Thelca.  Compare  the  ipai  Ttap^svoi  of  antiquity. 

66.  I.  Tim.  iii.  2,  12;  Athenag.  Leg.  33. 

67.  Cf.  notes  and  extracts,  xviii.  second  part,  p.  422,  425. 

68.  See  the  inscriptions.  For  example  Garrucci  Cimitero  degli  ant.  Ebrei,  p. 

68,  eulogy  of  a  Jewish  woman  who  lived  ^torardpo?  VETO,  itap- 
Senxov  avTrj<3.  Cf.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  No.  9905 ;  de  Rossi,  Roma 
soft.  I.  tav.  xxix.  No.  I. 


SAINT  PAUL.  379 

69.  See  the  Jewish  inscriptions  published  by  Kirchoff  and  Garrucci,  particu- 

larly the  two  beautiful  inscriptions  of  Garrucci,  Cimitero,  p.  68. 

70.  See  code  rabbi  nique  (of  Joseph  Karo,  translated  by  MM.  Sautayra  and 

Charleville  (Algiers  1868)  I.  p.  41,  et  seq. 

71.  I.  Thess.  iv.  9,  10.    Cf.  Joann.  xiii.  34;  xv.  12,  17;  I.  John  iii.  10;  iv.  12. 

72.  Gal.  vi.  10. 

73.  I.  Thess.  iv.  n;  II.  Thess.  iii.  10-13. 

74.  I.  Thess.  iv.  n;  II.  Thess.  iii.  12. 

75.  I.  Thess.  iv.  n,  12,  Comp.  Col.  iv.  5. 

76.  II.  Thess.  iii.  n,  12. 

77.  I.  Thess.  v.  19,  21. 

78.  I.  Thess.  i.  9;  v.  15,  et  seq. 

79.  I.  Cor.  ii.  8;  Jac.  ii.  i. 

80.  I.  Thess.  i.  10,  ii.  12-16;  iii.  13;  v.  23;  II.  Thess.  i.  5,  et  seq.;  ii.  i, 

et  seq. 

81.  II.  Thess.  i.  5-10. 

82.  Comp.  IV.  book  of  Esdras,  vi.  verses  49,  et  seq.  the  oriental  versions 

omitted  in  the  Vulgate. 

83.  I.  Thess.  iv.  12,  17.     Comp.  IV.  book  of  Esdras,  vii.  28,  et  seq.  Vulg. 

(see  the  Oriental  versions  published  or  collected  by  Ewald,  Volkmar, 
Ceriani). 

84.  See  "Life  of  Jesus,"  p.  276,  et  seq. 

85.  It  must  read  K/\.£7tra?y  with  the  manuscript  of  the  Vatican. 

86.  I.  Thess.  v.  i,  et  seq. 

87.  Compare  Phil.  ii.  6. 

88.  II.  Thess.  ii.  i-ii. 

89.  See  "Life  of  Jesus,"  p.  272,  et  seq. 

90.  This  word  is  only  found  in  the  language  of  the  epistle  attributed  to  John. 

But  the  idea  is  perfectly  characterized  in  St.  Paul's  epistles  and  the 
Apocalypse. 

91.  Cf.  Math.  xxiv.  24. 

92.  Daniel  vii.  25  ;  ix.  27 ;  xi.  36.     Targum  of  Jerus.  Number  xi."  26,  and 

Deut.  xxxiv.  2;  Targ.  of  Jonathan,  Is.  xi.  4,  etc. 

93.  Dan.  xi.  36-39. 

94.  See  "The  Apostles,"  p.  193,  et  seq.;  Philo,  Legatio  ad  Caium  §  25,  et 

seq.;  Jos.  Ant.  XVIII.  viii. 

95.  The  Apocalypse  is  full  of  such  precautions. 

96.  Tacitus  Ann.  xii.  64,  Suetonius,  Claudius,  43  et  seq.  Dion  Cassius,  Ix. 

34,  35- 

97.  Compare  the  Apocalypse  and  Virg.  Georg.  I.  464,  et  seq. ;  compare  the 

Similitudes  of  the  book  of  Enoch,  the  IV.  book  of  Esdras,  book  IV. 
of  the  Sibylline  verses,  the  phenomena  of  the  eruption  of  Vesuvius. 

98.  Col.  iii.  17;  iv.  2;  Eph,  v.  20. 


380  SAINT  PAUL. 

99.  I.  Cor.  x.  30,  31;  Rom.  xiv.   6;  Col.  iii.    17;  Acts  xxvil  35;  Constit. 

apost.  vii.  49;  Tertullian,  Apolog.  39. 

100.  I.  Cor.  vi.  i,  et  seq. 

101.  This  is  the  most  probable  meaning  of  I.  Cor.  vii.  21. 

1 02.  I.    Cor.   vii.    17-24;  Col.   iii.   22-25.     Compare  the  conduct   of  the 

apostles  towards  Onesimus  and  Philemon. 

103.  I.  Cor.  xii. ;  xvi.  Comp.  Philo.  (ut  fertur)  De  vita  contempl,  §  10. 

104.  I.  Cor.  xiv.  30. 

105.  I.  Cor.  xii.  8-10,  28-30;  xiv.  6,  15,  16,  26;  Col.  iii.  16. 

106.  Aoyia  Ssov,  I.  Peter  iv.  n. 

107.  Tertullian,  Apol.  39;  Clem.  Alex.  P<zdag\\,  165. 

108.  Col.  iii.  16;  Eph.  v.  19;  Tertullian,  loc.  cit. 

109.  I.  Cor.  xiv.  34. 

HO.   I.  Cor.  xiv.  1 6,  Justin  Apol.  i.  65,  67. 

111.  Latin  mass. 

112.  This  cry  was  used  among  the  heathens,  Arrian,  Epict.  Dissert,  ii.  7. 

113.  I.  Cor.  xiv.   i,  et  seq.;  Justin,  Dial,  aim  Try  ph.  39,  82;  Eusebius, 

H.  E.  v.  17,  Cf.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  No.  6406. 

114.  Acts  xxi.  9;  Eusebius,  1.  c.;  Maffei,  Mus.    Veron.  p.  179. 

115.  TlrEvnariKGoi. 

116.  I.  Cor.  xii.  3,  10,  28,  30;  xiv.  5,  et  seq. 

117.  I.  Cor.  xiv.  22,  Ttrzvjua.  is  often  compared  with  SvyajuiZ,  I.  Cor.  ii. 

4,  5;  Rom.  xv.  19. 

118.  I.  Cor.  xiv.  23,  24. 

119.  I.  Cor.  xiv.  24,  25.     See  John  iii.  20;  "Life  of  Jesus,"  p.  162,  com- 

pare the  analogous  customs  which  existed  in  Saint  Simonism  and  which 
induced  the  most  striking  scenes.  CEuvres  de  Saint  Simon  et  d^En- 
fantiny  v.  (Paris,  1866)  p.  152,  et  seq. 

1 2O.  Acts  xix.  1 8.     See  however,  hereafter,  note  68,  Chap.  XII. 

121.  I.  Cor.  xi.  20,  et  seq.     Epistle  of  Jude  12. 

122.  I.  Cor.  xi.  23,  et  seq.;  Justin  Apol.  i.  66. 

123.  I.  Thess.  v.  26;  I.  Cor.  xvi.  20;  II.   Cor.  xiii.    12;  Rom.  xvi.  16;  I. 

Peter,  v.  14;  Justin,  Apol.  i.  65;  Constit.  apost.  ii.  57;  viii.  ii; 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  Pczdag.  iii.  ii,  Tertullian,  De  orations  14; 
Lucian,  Lticius,  17;  Cyril  of  Jerus.  Catech.  Myst.  v.  3  (Paris,  1720, 
p.  326).  Cf.  Genes,  xxxiii,  4;  II.  Sam.  xiv.  23;  Luke  xv.  20,  where 
the  kiss  implies  the  idea  of  reconciliation.  Cf.  Suicer.  Thes.  eccl., 
the  words  atfTt^ojuai,  a(5ita6^o^^  tpiXtifta;  Ronandot,  Lititrg. 
Oriental  Coll.  I.  p.  12,  26,  39,  60,  142;  etc.  The  Latin  Church  trans- 
ferred the  kiss  of  peace  after  the  jefcmmunion,  then  suppressed  or 
changed  it. 

124.  Constit.  apost.  ii.  57;  viii.  ii;  Council  of  Laodicea,  Canon  19;  treaty 

Ad  virginem  lapsam,  attributed  to  Saint  Ambrose,  to  St.  Jerome, 


SAINT  PAUL.  381 

and  to  St.  Augustin,  ch.  vi. ;  Amalaire,  DC  cccl.  offic.  iii.  32 ;  book 
De  offic.  div.  attributed  to  Alcuin,  c.  xxxix.  xl. ;  Haymon  of  Halbcr- 
staclt.  In.  Rom.  xvi.  16;  G.  Duranti,  Rationale,  I.  iv.  c.  liii.  No.  9. 

125.  Tertullian  Ad  uxorem,  ii.  4.  • 

126.  Dion.  Areop.  De  eccl.  hierarch.  ch.  iii.  contempl.  8. 

127.  Tertullian  De  orat.  14. 

128.  Acts  ii.  46. 

129.  Acts  xx.  7  et  seq.;  Tertullian,  Apolog.  39. 

130.  Actual  usage  of  the  Friday  evening. 

131.  Acts  xx.  8;  Tertullian,  Apolog.  39.     It  is  probable  that  the  custom 

of  celebrating  the  mysteries  before  sunrise,  was  in  consequence  of  the 
persecutions.  Tertullian,  Apolog.  2;  Ad  Uxorem  ii.  4;  De  cor.  mil. 
3;  De  fttga  in  per  sec.  14,  Minutius  Felix,  Oct.  8,  Pliny,  Epist.  x.  97, 
distinguish  the  reunion  ante  Incem  from  the  reunion  for  the  repast. 

132.  John  xx.  26;  Apoc.  i.  10;  I.  Cor.  xvi.  2;  Acts  xx.  7,  n,  (The  matter 

here  under  discussion  occurred  in  the  first  part  of  the  year  58. )  Justin 
Apol.  i.  67.  Cf.  Pliny  Epist.  x.  97. 

133.  Justin,  Apol.  i.  67. 

134.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  2;  Justin,  Apol.  i.  67. 

135.  This  is  still  the  case  among  the  Christians  of  Abyssinia;  who  have  kept 

a  tinge  of  Judean-Christianism.  See  Philoxene  Luzzatto,  Mem.  sur 
les  Falashas,  p.  47.  The  single  fact  that  the  name  of  Sabbat  re- 
mained in  the  Christian  calendar,  proves  that  for  a  long  time,  in  the 
churches,  Saturday  was  the  day  of  rest. 

136.  Cf.  Justin,  Dial,  cum  Tryph.  10.    The  two  uses  are  preserved  simulta- 

neously in  some  places.  Cone,  of  Laodicia,  canons  16,  29;  St.  Aug. 
Epist.  liv.  ad  Januarium;  Sozomcn  H.  E.  vii.  19. 

137.  St.  Jerome,  In  Matth.  xii,  init. 

138.  Actsii.  46;  xx.  7,  ii ;  Pliny,  Epist.  x.   97;  Tertullian,  Apolog.   39, 

and  the  ancient  eucharistic  representations.  Bosio,  p.  364,  368; 
Bottari,  tav.  cxxvii  (ii.  p.  168,  et  seq.);  tav.  clxii  (iii.  107  et  seq.); 
Aringhi,  ii.  p.  77,  83,  119,  123,  185,  199,  267 ;  Boldetti,  p.  45,  et  seq.; 
Pitra,  Spicil.  Solesm.  iii.  plates;  Martigny,  Diet,  des  ant.  chret.  p. 
245,  et  seq.;  401,  578,  et  seq.;  de  Rossi,  Roma.  sott.  Vol.  ii.  pi.  14,  15, 
16,  18;  Bullettino  di  arch,  crist.  June,  August  and  Oct.,  1865. 

139.  Tertullian,  Apolog.  39. 

140.  See  les  Apotres,  p.  358,  359. 

141.  I.  Cor.  xi.  20. 

142.  Comp.  the  fresco  of  the  cemetery  of  SS.  Marcellin  and  Peter  (Bottari, 

tav.  cxxvii.)  and  a  similar  one  found  by  M.  di  Rossi  (Martigny.  p. 
579-580,)  to  the  inscription  of  Laruvium,  second  col.  lines  15-17. 
(Mommsen,  De  coll.  108-111)  Cf.  Martial,  I.  xii.  3;  VIII.  Ixvii.  7; 
XIV.  cv.  i. 


382  SAINT  PA  UL. 

143.-  Pliny,  Epist.  x.  97. 

144.  Aringhi,  Roma  subt.  ii.  p.  119;  Bottari,  tav.  cxxvii. 

145.  Tertullian,  ApoL  39;  Minutius  Felix,  Oct.  31;  Eusebius,  Oratio  Con. 

stantini,  12. 

146.  Momm.,  figures  before  cited;  Paulin  de  Perigueux.  Life  of  St.  Martin> 

Hi.  p.  1031  (Migne.);  Martial.  X.  xlviii.  6;  XIV.  Ixxxvii.  i;  Lamp- 
ride,  Heliog.  25,  29;  St.  Pierre  Chrysologue,  Sermons,  x*dx. 

147.  Many  of  these  saucers  remain,  from  the  close  of  the  second  century 

until  the  fourth.     V.  Filippo  Buonarruoti,  Osservazioni  sopra  alcuni 
frammenti  di  vast  antichi  di  vetro,  Firenze,  1716;  Garrucci,  Vetri 
ornati,  Roma,  1858;  Martigny,  Diet.  p.  19,  278,  et  seq.  578. 
149.  Justin,  Apol.  i.  65-67. 

149.  I.  Cor.  xi.  22,  34. 

150.  See  St.  John  Chrysostom,  In  I.  Cor.  xi.  homil.  xxvii.  and  the  fresco 

of  the  cemetery  of  Saint  Callista,  in  Pitra,  Spic.  Sol.  iii.  tab.  i.  fig.  2. 

151.  Cf.  Clem.  Alex.  Pcedag.  ii.  i. 

152.  This  is  what  St.  Paul  wishes;  I.  Cor.  xi.  18,  et  seq.   Cf.  Justin,  ApoL 

i.  65-67. 

153.  Third  council  of  Carthage,  canons  24,  29,  30;  St.  Augustine,  Epist. 

liv.  ad  Jan.\  St.  John  Chrys.,  passage  cited;  Theophylactus  and 
Theodoret.  In  I.  Cor.  xi. 

154.  Tertullian,  Apolog.  39;  the  same,  De  jejun.  17;  Const  it.  apost.  ii.  28, 

57,  iii.  10;  v.  19;  Council  of  Gangres,  canon  ii,  etc. 

155.  Council  of  Laodicea,  canon  28;  third  council  of  Carthage,  canons  24, 

29,  30.     St.  Augustine,  St.  Ambrose  are  here  very  contradictory . 

156.  St.  Gregory  of  Naz.    Orat.  iv.  (i.  in  Jul. )  §  84;  Sozomen,  H.  E.  v. 

17,  and  the  antique  glasses  described  by  Buonarruoti  and  Garrucci. 

157.  Greg,  of  Tours.  Hist.  eccl.  Fr.  vi.  5;  viii.  2;  Vita.  S.  Melanii,  c.  4, 

(Acta  SS.  6  Jan.). 

158.  Epistle  of  Jude,  12.    Comp.  II.  Pet.  ii.  13,  Cf.  Sancti  Ignatii  (ut  fertur) 

Epist.  ad  Smyrn.  8  (edit.  Petermann);  Clem,  of  Alex.  Padag.  ii.  i; 
Tertullian,  ApoL  39;  the  same,  De  jejun.  17;  Constit.  apost.  ii.  28. 

159.  See  "  Vie  de  Jesus"  thirteenth  edition,  p.  316;  les  Apotres,  p.  81-82. 

1 60.  Justin,  ApoL  i.  66;  Garrucci,  Tre  sepolcri,  Naples,  1852. 

161.  Justin,  /.  c.  (cf.  Tertullian,  De  jej.  16).     The  hesitation  which  could 

be  produced  in  regard  to  the  tomb  of  Vibia  is  the  best  commentary 
on  the  passage  of  Justin. 

162.  Justin.  Dial,  cum  Try  ph.  10;  Minutius  Felix,  8,  9,  28,  30,  31 ;  Athena- 

goras,  Leg.  3 ;  Theophilus,  Ad  AutoL  iii.  4,  5,  letter  from  the  churches 
of  Vienna  and  of  Lyons  in  Eus.  H.  E.  v.  i ;  Tertullian,  ApoL  2;  Ad 
tixorem,  ii.  4,  Cf.  Juvenal,  xv.  1-13. 

163.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  8. 

164.  In  consequence  of  Acts'xviii.  21  (according  to  Griesbach  and  there- 

ceived  text). 


SAINT  PAUL.  383 

165.  Eusebius,  Hist.  Eccl.  iv.  26;  v.  23-25;  Chronique  pascal f,  p.  6,  et  seq. 

edit.  Du  Cange.  They  attach  to  this  also  the  creation  of  the  world, 
which  they  supposed  to  have  taken  place  at  the  Spring  equinox. 
Murinus  Alex.,  in  Pitra,  Spic.  Sol.,  I.  p.  14. 

166.  I.  Cor.  v.  7,  8.     Cf.  Gal.  iv.  9-11;  Rom.  xiv.  5;  Col.  ii.  16. 

167.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  8;  Acts  xx.  16. 

168.  Acts  ii.  i. 

169.  There  is  no  trace  of  this  interpretation  before  the  Talmud.     Talm.  of 

Bab.  Pesachim,  68  b. 

170.  See  Macarius  Magnes,  cited  by  Nicephorus,  in  Pitra,  Spicil.  Sol.  i.  309, 

et  seq.  The  paintings  of  the  catacombs,  except  when  they  are  much 
later  than  the  first  century,  are  decorative,  and  do  not  pretend  to  pre- 
sent objects  of  worship.  The  Oriental  Church  still  repels  sculpture  as 
tainted  with  idolatry. 

171.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  19;  Rom  xvi.  5.  14,  15,  23;  Col.  iv.  15;  Philem.  2;  Acts 

xx.  8,  9. 
172  Titep&ov.     Acts  i.  13;  ix.  37,  39;  xx.  8,  9. 

173.  Ibid. 

174.  Inscr.  in  Mom.  De  coll.  et  sod.  Rom.  p.   78,  note  25,  96;  in  de  Rossi 

Rom.  Sott.  p.  209;  Fabretti  Inscr.  domest.  p.  430,  et  seq.,  p.  146,  No. 
178;  Orelli  2414,  4938;  Gruter,  1117,  7;  Amaduzzi,  Anecd.  litt.  i, 
p.  476.  Nos.  39,  40;  Pliny,  Epist.  VIII,  16. 

175.  Thus  Ephesus,  which  had  at  least  three  peculiar  churches  (Rom.  xvi. 

5,  14,  15,)  made  none  the  less  one  and  the  same  church.  Corinth 
had,  it  seems,  but  one  particular  church  (Rom.  xvi.  23,  Greek  text). 

176.  Acts  ii.  22. 

177.  I.  Cor.  viii.  6. 

178.  Coloss.  i.  16;  John  i.  3.     Cf.  Philo.  De  Cherubim,  §  35. 

179.  II.  Cor.  iv.  4. 

180.  II.  Cor.  v.  18-21. 

181.  II.  Cor.  v.  17. 

182.  II.  Cor.  v.  14,  15. 

183.  II.  Cor.  viii.  9. 

184.  II.  Cor.  xiii.  4. 

185.  II.  Cor.  i.  12. 

1 86.  II.  Cor.  iv.  10-12. 

187.  II.  Cor.  iii.  18. 

1 88.  II.  Cor.  iv.  16;  v.  8. 

189.  II.  Cor.  iv.  7. 

190.  II.  Cor.  i.  14;  v.  10. 


TTSITIESITT 


384  SAINT  PAUL. 


CHAPTER   X. 

1.  Thess.  ii.  14. 

2.  Acts  xviii.  21,  according  to  the  reading  of  Griesbach,  which  is  also  that 

of  the  received  text.  The  omission  of  this  passage  explains  itself,  but  its 
interpolation  is  not  so  clear.  It  is  true  that  Gal.  i.  and  ii.  would  lead 
to  the  belief  that  Paul  made  no  journey  to  Jerusalem  between  his  first 
and  second  missions.  Strictly  speaking,  we  may  doubt  the  reality  of  this 
journey,  as  of  the  one  reported  in  Acts  xi.  30;  xii.  25.  But  it  seems 
that  the  author  of  the  Acts  believes  it,  or  wishes  to  convey  this  belief. 

3.  Jos.  B.  J.  II.  xv.  i. 

4.  Acts  xviii.   1 8.     KeifHXfiero^  can  only  relate  to  Paul,  if  it  is  adopted 

for  the  v.  21,  reading  of  Griesbach.  Why  does  Aquila  make  this  vow, 
when  he  does  not  go  to  Jerusalem?  Why,  at  least,  does  the  author 
of  the  Acts  speak  of  it  ? 

5.  Acts  xviii.  21,  reading  of  Griesbach. 

6.  Acts  xviii.  22.  In  consequence  of  the  use  of  the  two  expressions,  dra^aS 

and  -£O.T£.fiTi  (cf.  Recognit.  iv.  35),  and  especially  verses  18  and  19. 

7.  The  author  of  the  Acts  seems  to  fear  to  urge  the  point.     The  text  here 

is  full  of  ambiguities  and  of  hiatuses. 

8.  Gal.  II.  ii.  10. 

9.  This  results  from  the  silence  that  Paul  kept  with  regard  to  this  voyage, 

in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  (see  especially  ii.  10,  n.) 

10.  I.  Cor.  ix.  5;  Clem.  Rom.  Epist.  I.  ad  Cor.  5. 

11.  Gal.  ii.  7,  et  seq. 

12.  Gal.  ii.  7,  n,  et  seq. 

13.  I.  Cor.  ix.  5;  Clem,  of  Alex.  Strom,  vii.  ii;  Eus.  H.  E.  Hi.  30. 

14.  Papias  in  Eus.  H.  E.  iii.  39;  Irenseus  Adv.  heer.  III.  i.  i;  x.  6;  Clement 

of  Alex.,  cited  by  Eus.  H.  E.  ii.  15;  Tertullian  Adv.  Marc.  iv.  5. 

15.  I.  Peter  v.  13.     If,  as  we  have  supposed,  the  TCapo^vdj^o?  of  Acts  xv. 

39,  answers  to  the  incident  reported  in  Gal.  ii.  n,  et  seq.,  it  would 
be  much  more  natural  to  admit  that  Peter  had  John-Mark  at  Antioch 
with  him.  It  is  at  Antioch,  moreover,  that  a  £p[j,r]V£VTr}<s  would 
have  been  most  necessary  to  him. 

1 6.  Homilies  or  Recognitions^  pseudo-Clementine. 

17.  Clem.  Rom.  I.  ad  Cor.  5.  • 

1 8.  Gal.  ii.  ii. 

19.  In  the  year  58,  Peter  is  absent  from  Jerusalem,  Acts  xxi.  18. 

20.  Libanius  Antiochicus,  p.  360,  361  (Reiske). 

21.  I.  Cor.  ix.  5,  et  seq. 

22.  Cf.  The  Pastor  of  Hernias,  vis  i.  and  ii. ;  Eusebius  H.   E.  vii.   30; 

Council  of  Nice,  canon  3;  law  of  Arcadius  and  of  Honorius,  in  the 
code  Just.  I.  iii.  19;  St.  Jefome  Epist.  ad  Eustochium,  De  cust.  virg. 


SAINT  PAUL.  385 

23.  Constit.  apost.  vi.  14;  Clement  of  Alexandria,  cited  by  Eus.  II.  E.  ii. 

i;  Eus.  ibid.  ii.  23;  iii.  22,  iv.  5,  vii.  19,  St.  Jer.    In  Gal.  i.  19. 

24.  Letter  of  Clement  to  James,  at  the  head  of  the  pseudo-Clementine  homi- 

lies, title ;  homily  xi.  35. 

25.  Gal.  ii.  7,  et  seq. 

26.  According  to  Epiphanius  (foer.  Ixxviii.  14),  James  would  have  been  96 

years  old  at  his  death,  which  occurred  in  the  year  62.  James  would 
then  have  been  born  in  the  year  34  B.C.,  or  about  30  years  before 
Jesus,  which  is  very  difficult  if  Jesus  and  he  were  of  the  same  mother. 

27.  See  Life  of  Jesus,  p.  24,  25,  153,  154.    I  am  now  inclined  to  believe 

that  the  " brethren  of  the  Lord"  were  from  a  former  marriage  of 
Joseph. 

28.  We  suspend  the  question  as  to  whether  this  James  is  identical  with  James 

son  of  Alpheus,  or  the  younger,  one  of  the  twelve.  The  question  is  not 
of  much  importance  for  our  subject,  since,  in  the  hypothesis  of  the 
difference  between  the  tw<3  persons,  James,  the  son  of  Alpheus,  the 
apostle,  remains  altogether  obscure.  As  to  James  the  son  of  Zebe- 
dee,  or  James  the  elder,  his  person  stands  out  from  his  namesake's 
with  perfect  clearness. 

29.  See  p.  74,  et  seq. 

30.  Epistle  of  Jude  8,  et  seq. 

31.  Gal.  i.  7;  ii.  12,  etc.     Comp.  Acts  xv.  i,  24.     We  will  show  later  the 

continuation  of  this  counter-mission,  in  the  two  Epistles  to  the 
Corinthians,  and  in  the  role  which  the  author  of  the  Homilies  (pseudo- 
Clementine)  gives  to  Peter,  a  role  which  consists  in  following  the 
steps  of  Simon  the  Magician,  to  thwart  his  predictions  and  to  repair 
the  evil  that  he  did.  See  especially  horn.  ii.  17. 

32.  See,  for  example,  the  works  of  Saint  Simon  and  of  Enfantin  vii.  p.  178, 

et  seq. 

33.  This  can  be  inferred  from  I.  Peter  v.  12.    -But  the  identity  of  the  Sylva- 

nus  named  in  this  passage,  with  the  companion  of  Saint  Paul,  is 
doubtful. 

34.  Notice  his  role,  Acts  xv.  22,  et  seq. 

35.  See  The  Apostles,  introd. 

36.  Gal.  ii.  13.     On  the  hypothesis  that  the  meeting  of  Peter  and  Paul  at 

Antioch,  took  place  on  this  journey. 

37.  Titus  disappeared  after  the  return  of  Paul  to  Antioch,  who  followed  the 

council  to  Jerusalem.  He  re-appeared  during  the  third  mission.  It 
is  then  probable  that  Paul  overtook  him  at  Antioch,  on  his  departure 
for  the  third  mission. 

38.  Gal.  II.  n,  et  seq.  Cf.  pseudo-Clem.  Homilies  xvii.  19,  and  the  pretended 

letter  of  Peter  to  James,  under  the  head  of  Homilies  2.     It  is  more 
natural  to  place  the  incident  in  question  at  this  date,  than  at  the  pre- 
33 


3§6  SAINT  PAUL. 

ceding  visit  of  Paul  to  Antioch.  The  agreement  of  Jerusalem  was 
then  too  recent.  Besides,  that  which  is  said  in  verse  13  makes  it 
evident  that  Barnabas  was  no  longer  under  the  influence  of  Paul  when 
this  incident  occurred.  Of  the  three  parts  that  we  can  here  take  to 
make  the  Acts  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians'  agree  :  First,  to  trans- 
port the  incident  (Gak  ii.  n,  et  seq.)  to  the  interval  between  the  first 
and  second  missions  ;  second,  to  deny  the  journey  to  Jerusalem  after 
the  second  mission,  notwithstanding  Acts  xviii.  18,  21,  22;  third,  to 
insert  this  voyage  after  Gal.  ii.  10,  although  Paul  does  not  speak  of 
it  ;  this  last  part  is  even  the  less  confusing.  As  to  the  different 
means  which  the  Fathers,  since  Clement  of  Alexandria,  have  imagined 
to  excuse  or  to  extenuate  the  episode  of  Antioch,  they  are  absolutely 
gratuitous,  not  being  founded  on  the  text  nor  on  any  particular  tra- 
dition. 

39.  Gal.  ii.  12;  II.  Cor.  iii.  i,  et  seq.;  v.  12;  x.  12,  18;  xii.  n.    Compare 

??    rives   <5v6ra.~ 


40.  Comp.  Gal.  ii.  2. 

41.  Comp.  Apoc.  ii.  2;  xxi.  14. 

42.  Recognitions  pseudo-  Clem.  iv.  34,  35;  comp.  Homily  xi.  35,  et  seq.,  and 

the  attestations  of  James  (at  the  head  of  the  Horn.)  i  and  2.  Cf. 
Acts  xv.  22,  et  seq.,  where  the  author  admits  the  principle  of  the 
eTfzo'ro/b/  dvdranxj?,  and  takes  advantage  of  it  for  his  party.  Cf. 
Const,  apost.  ii.  58. 

43.  II.  Cor.  xi.  ,  xii.  ;  Apoc.  ii.  2.  In  a  compilation  of  the  Acta  Petri  et  Pauli, 

published  by  Thilo  (Halle,  1837  and  1838),  where  the  Ebionite  tinge  is 
still  obvious,  Peter  is  informed  by  the  bishops  of  Paul's  doctrine,  and 
recognizing  that  this  last  has  ceased  to  be  inimical  to  the  law,  gives 
him  his  approbation  (ch.  Baur.  Paulus  i.  260,  261,  2d  edit.).  In  the 
compilation  published  by  Tischendorf,  §  60  (Acta  Ap.  apocr.),  this 
shade  is  effaced. 

44.  Ex.  xxxiii.  ii,  et  seq.;  Num.  xii.  6. 

45.  Homilies  pseudo-Clem,  xvii.  13-20. 

46.  Gal.  ii.  ii,  et  seq. 

47.  See  Life  of  Jesus,  p.  395,  396.   Compare  the  legend  Domine  qtto  vadis, 

mentioned  for  the  first  time  in  a  decided  manner  by  St.  Ambrose,  but 
which  seems  much  more  ancient.  Cf.  Origen,  Comment,  in  Joh., 
tomus  xx.  §  12,  edit,  of  La  Rue. 

48.  Gal.  ii.  n,  et  seq.     Cf.  the  K^pvyfia  IIavA.ov  quoted  by  the  anony- 

mous author  of  the  De  non  iter.  bapt.  ,  among  the  Observations  of 
Rigault,  at  the  sequel  of  the  works  of  St.  Cyprian,  p.  139. 

49.  Comp.  Gal.  vi.  13.     According  to  Saint  Paul's  idea  no  one  is  capable  of 

observing  the  whole  law  ;  even  those  most  interested  fail  in  it. 


SAINT  PAUL.  387 

50.  Gal.  ii.  ii. 

51.  Gal.  i.  18;  ii.  2.     Cf.  the  Krjpvyfja.  ITavkov,  1.  c. 

52.  Constit.  apost.  vii.  46. 

53.  Pseudo-Clem.   Homilies  xvii.   19;  Letter  from  Peter  to  James,  at  the 

head  of  these  homilies,  §  2. 

54.  Pseudo-Clem.  Homilies  xvii.  13-19  (see  ch.  x.,  71,  note);  Irenreus,  Adv. 

h<cr.  I.  xxvi.  2;  Clem,  of  Alex.,  in  Ens.  II.  E.,  vi.  14;  Eusebius, 
Hist,  eccl.)  iii.  27;  Epiphanius  Adv.  hccr.  xxx.  16,  25;  St.  Jerome, 
De  viris  ill.,  5.  In  Matt.  xii.  init.;  Primasius;  in  the  Max.  Bibl. 
Patrnm  (Lugd.),  x.  p.  144.  The  hostility  of  Papias  (Eus.  H.  E.  iii. 
39)  and  of  Hegesippus  to  Paul  is  foreseen.  Cf.  Photius  cod.  ccxxxii. 
p.  288  (Bekker),  where  Hegesippus,  like  the  author  of  the  Homilies, 
seems  to  refute  Paul's  claim  to  a  special  revelation.  Note,  however, 
(in  Eus,  H.  E.  iii.  32;  iv.  22)  the  system  of  Hegesippus  in  regard  to 
the  virgin  church,  not  polluted  before  the  death  of  James  by  dnocdS 
HaraaiS.  It  is  true,  that  he  caused  by  el  ^ai  rivet  vnrjpxov,  a 
restriction  in  which  Paul  was  perhaps  included.  St.  Justin  even  seems 
to  have  had  little  favor  for  the  apostle.  He  does  not  name  him,  and 
attributes  to  the  "twelve"  the  evangelization  of  the  Gentiles.  In  one 
place  (Dial,  cum  Tryph.  35;  comp.  I.  Cor.  viii.  x.),  he  contradicts 
the  apostle  directly.  Neither  does  Polycrates  of  Ephesus  cite  Saint 
Paul.  In  the  controversy  of  the  Passover,  the  only  apostolic  authority 
alleged  is  that  of  Saint  John. 

55.  See  the  epistle  to  the  Galatians  entire. 

56.  Jud.  4,  7,  8,  10,  23.     Notice  the  reproach  of  itopvea;  it  is  that  which 

is  always  applied  to  the  doctrine  of  Paul.  Comp.  Jude  7  and  Apoc. 
ii.  14,  20. 

57.  This  relates  to  a  longer  epistle,  which  we  have  not. 

58.  Allusion  to  the  passage,  Gen.  vi.  I,  et  seq.,  explained  in  the  book  of 

Enoch  c.  vi.  et  seq. 

59.  That  is  to  say,  the  apostles  of  Jerusalem.     We  will  readily  admit  that 

there  is  then  an  allusion  to  the  scene  related  Gal.  2.  n,  et  seq.,  if  we 
imagine  that  it  relates  to  the  same  scene  in  the  Homilies  (pseudo- 
Clementine),  xvii.  19. 

60.  Allusion  to  an  apocryphal  book  entitled  the  "Assumption  of  Moses.'* 

Cf.  Helgenfeld  Novum  Testamentum  Extra  canonem  receptum,  i.  p. 
95,  et  seq. 

61.  Jude  here  opposes  the  relative  moderation  of  Satan  to  the  impertinence 

of  Paul,  who  dares  to  treat  Peter  as  ~Xfa.T£yvtt6n£vo<i.  Cf.  Homi- 
lies pseudo-Clement.,  xvii.  19. 

62.  Cf.  Acts  viii.  1 8,  et  seq.     See  p.  301. 

63.  Cf.  Apoc.  ii.  14,  and  II.  Pet.  ii.  15. 

64.  Enoch  i.  9  (division  of  Dillmann). 


388  SAINT  PAUL. 

65.  Apoc.  ii.  9;  iii.  9. 

66.  Apoc.  ii.  2. 

67.  Apoc.  ii.  20. 

68.  Jude  ii;  II.  Pet.  ii.  15;  Apoc.  ii.  2,  6,  14,  15. 

69.  Apoc.  ii.  20. 

70.  Homil.  pseudo-Clem,  ii.  17. 

71.  There  is  no  doubt  that,  under  the  character  of  Simon  the  Magician,  the 

author  of  the  pseudo-Clem.  Homilies  means  often  to  designate  Paul. 
See  especially  Horn.  xvii.  §  19;  drS£dr7?xd<3  juoi,  and  the  passage 
II  si  %(x.T£yv(*)6tJ,£vov  /.is  A.ey£i$  .  .  .  are  evidently  an  allu- 
sion to  Gal.  ii.  n,  and  i.  16.  Comp.  also  Horn.  xvii.  12-17  to  !• 
Cor.  xii.  i,  (ortratiiaSj  aTtonaX.v^Ei'i);  Horn.  ii.  17,  to  Acts  xxi., 
28.  The  pseudo-Clem.  Homilies  appeared  at  Rome  towards  the  year 
150  or  1 60.  For  their  hostile  character  towards  Saint  Paul,  see  esp. 
Horn.  ii.  17;  iii.  59 ;  vii.  48 ;  Recogn.  iv.  36 ;  Epistle  of  Peter  to 
James  (at  the  head  of  Horn.),  2;  attestation  (ibid,}. 

72.  Homilies  pseudo-Clem,  iii.  59. 

73.  Comp.  an  analogous  etymology  to  Balaam :  Talm.  of  Bab.  Sanhedrin 

105  a.  A  vague  relation  between  Balaam  and  Nicolas  or  Onkelos 
is  found  even  in  the  Talmud:  Gittin,  57,  a  cf.  Geiger,  Judische 
Zeitschrift  six  years  (p.  36,  37).  Compare  the  name  Armillus  to 
'EpnokaoS,  given  to  the  Antichrists  among  the  Jews. 

74.  See  183,  184. 

75.  Num.  xxxi.   16;  Jos.  Ant.  IV.  vi,    6.     For  the  association  of  ideas 

which  the  Jewish-Christians  established  around  rtopvzia,  see  the 
passages  of  Apocalypse  and  of  the  Epistle  of  Jude,  before  quoted, 
without  forgetting  Acts  xv.  20;  xxi.  25,  and  Gal.  v.  19-21.  .This 
nopveia  in  relation  with  Balaam,  is  the  electric  spark  which  spreads 
in  darkness  the  current  of  hate  against  Paul. 

76.  Later  in  Judaism,  Jesus  (more  or  less  confounded  with  Paul)  was  some- 

times, as  it  seems,  designated  in  hidden  words  by  this  same  name  of 
Balaam.  Mischna,  Sanhedrin,  xi.  i,  andt  he  Gemare  of  Jerusalem 
corresponding;  Mischna  Aboth.  v.  19;  Siphre,  near  the  end ;  Talm. 
of  Bab.,  Gittin.  57  a  (cf.  Geiger,  Judische  Zeitschrift,  6th  year,  p. 

31,  et  seq.). 

77.  Apoc.  n,  6,  14.  14,  15. 

78.  Recognitions  i.  70,  71. 

79.  Homil.  pseudo-Clem,  ii.  17. 

80.  Irenaeus  Atfv.  hcer.  I.  xxvi.  2. 

81.  Letter  of  Peter  to  James,  under  the  head  of  Homilies  pseudo-Clementine 

§  2.     Cf.  Horn.  xvii.  19. 

82.  Horn.  ii.  17;  iii.  59. 

83.  Letter  of  Peter  to  James,  §  2. 


SAINT  PAUL.  389 

84.  Apoc.  ii.  24.     Cf.  Cor.  ii.  10. 

85.  Apoc.  ii.  9;  iii.  9. 

86.  Apoc.  xxi.  14;  cf.  xviii.  20. 

87.  Allusion  to  this:  Apoc.  ii.  9.     Cf.  II.  Cor.  xi.  22;  PhiL  iii.  5. 

88.  Comp.  filasseket  Gerim  c.  i  (edit.  Kirchheim). 
89-  Epiph.  hoer.  xxx.  16. 

90.  Hegesippus  in  Eus.  II.  E.  ii.  23;  Letter  of  Clement  to  James,  under  the 

head  of  Homilies,  pseudo-Clementine,  title;  Epiph.  hoer.  xxx.  16; 
Ixxviii.  7. 

91.  There  certainly  exists  an  Ebionite  legend  of  Saint  James,  of  which  Hege- 

sippus and  Saint  James  conserve  to  us  the  substance  and  some  extracts. 

92.  The  epistle  attributed  to  him  has  much  this  character. 

93.  Epiph.  hoer.  xxxix.  4;  Ixxxviii.  13. 

94.  Ex.  xxxix.  6. 

95.  Epiph.  hoer.  xxix.  4;  Ixxviii.  14.     John,  after  the  death  of  the  other 

apostles,  the  high  priest  of  the  Jewish-Christians,  was  decorated  with 
the  same  insignia.  Polycrates  in  Eusebius,  H.  E.  iii.  31 ;  v.  24; 
passage  which  forbids  us  regarding  that  which  Epiphanius  said  of  the 
7t£ TOiXov  to  James,  as  a  purely  Jewish-Christian  fable. 

96.  Hegesippus  in  Eus.  H.  E.  ii.  23;  Epiph.  haer.  xxix.  4;  Ixxviii.  13. 

97.  Epiph.  hoer.  Ixxviii.  13. 

98.  Recognit.  pseudo-Clem,  i.  43 ;  Constit.  apost.  viii.  35 ;  Eusebe.  H.  E. 

vii.  19;  Epiph.  hoer.  Ixxviii.  7;  JohnChrys.  Horn,  xxxviii.  in  I.  Cor.  xv. 
7,  p.  355  of  the  edit,  of  Montfaucon. 

99  Hegesippus  and  Epiphanius,  place  cited.  Comp.  the  passage  on  Saint 
James,  given  to  Jos.  by  Origen,  Eus.  and  Saint  Jerome  (Eus.  H.  E. 
ii.  See  note  57,  Chap.  III. 

100.  See  Chap.  III.  note  46. 

101.  I.  Cor.  iv.  4. 

102.  I.  Cor.  i.  9. 

103.  I.  Cor.  x.  16.  et  seq.;  xi.  23,  et  seq. 

104.  I.  Cor.  i.  30. 

105.  I.  Cor.  ii.  8. 

106.  i.  Cor.  xv.  21,  et  seq. 

107.  I.  Cor.  27,  28. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

• 

i.  Gal.  i.  7,  8;  v.  10.  These  three  verses  compared  prove  that  in  the 
emissaries,  Paul  saw  the  action  of  the  chief  of  the  church  of  Jerusalem. 
Compare  the  rivet  of  Gal.  i.  7,  to  nreS  dito'IaxGafiov  (GaL 
ii.  12,)  to  Tire's  of  II.  Cor.  iii.  i.  x.  12;  to  TIVE$ 
aito  TT/'S  'lovdaiaS  of  Acts  xv.  i. 
33* 


39°  SAINT  PAUL. 

2.  Gal.  vi.  12,  et  seq. 

3.  Gal.  v.  ii.     Compare  I.  Cor.  v.  16.     See  note  52,  Chap.  II. 

4.  Gal.  v.  15,  26.     When  Saint  Paul- wrote  this  epistle,  he  had  been  twice 

in  Galatia  (iv.  13).  That  prevents  our  imagining  the  date  of  this 
epistle  to  be  in  the  third  mission.  Again,  the  incident  Gal.  ii.  n,  et 
seq. ,  seems  not  to  have  taken  place  at  the  time  of  the  second  mission, 
and  if  the  epistle  had  been  written  during  this  mission,  we  should  find 
as  in  the  epistles  to  the  Thessalonians,  the  name  of  Silas  which  was 
known  to  the  Galatians  since  the  commencement  of  the  second  voyage. 
The  vague  formula  Gal.  i.  2,  applies  well  with  Antioch.  The  prompti- 
tude with  wrhich  Paul  learned  the  incident,  and  replied  to  it,  shows  a 
certain  facility  of  communication ;  but  communication  with  the  east- 
ern centre  of  Asia  Minor  was  easier  from  Antioch  ( by  Tarsus)  than 
from  Ephesus. 

5.  For  the  distinction  of  dapni  xai  at'juan,  com.  Matt.  xvi.  17. 

6.  Gen.  xv.  6. 

7.  Allusion  to  the  tunic  which  they  put  on,  emerging  from  baptism. 

8.  A  proverb  familiar  to  Saint  Paul.     I.  Cor.  v.  6. 

9.  It  appears  that  some  of  Paul's  adversaries,  caring  more  to  attack  him 

than  to  be  consistent,  expressed  themselves  as  follows:  "After  all, 
this  pretended  apostle  of  the  Gentiles  preaches  also  sometimes 
circumcision." 

10.  Pleasantry.     See  Phil.  iii.  2,  et  seq. 

11.  Gal.  vi.  n,  Ur^iHoi?  ypa/j/uatiir  does  not  necessarily  imply  the  idea 

of  "large  letters." 

12.  That  is  to  say:   to  raise  one's  self  in  the  eyes  of  Jewish  society  by  a 

carnal  advantage  much  esteemed  by  them. 

13.  That  is:  to  gain  influence  among  the  Jews  by  presenting  the  newly  cir- 

cumcised as  so  many  conquests. 

14.  He  repeats  himself  without  seeing  it.    Comp.  v.  6;  comp.  also  I.  Cor. 

vii.  19. 

15.  The  sincere  circumcised  Christians,  in  opposition  to  "Israel  according 

to  the  flesh,"  the  Jews  who  drew  vanity  from  the  circumcision. 

16.  The  traces  of  blows  from  the  scourge  and  the  rod  he  had  received,  which 

made  him  resemble  Jesus  crucified. 

17.  Gal.  i.  2. 

1 8.  Comp.  Col.  iv.  16. 

19.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  i. 

20.  Saint  Jerome's  letter  to  Saint  Augustine  (col.  623  Martanay). 

21.  Apoc.  xxi.  14. 

22.  Hence  the  tone  of  the  book  of  Acts.     See  the  Apostles,  introd.  p.  iv.  v. 

23.  Dionysius  of  Corinth,  in  Eus.  Hist.  eccl.  ii.  25. 


SAINT  PAUL.  391 

24.  Justin.  Apol.  i.  39,  45.     Dial,  cum   Tryph.  42,  53;  Homil.  pseudo- 

Clem,  iii.  59 ;  letter  of  Clement  to  James,  at  the  head  of  Horn.  §  I. 
Comp.  Acts,  x. 

25.  Gal.  iv.  17;  vi.  13. 

26.  Justin  knew  nothing  certain  of  the  convention  Gal.  ii.  7-10,  since  he 

regarded  the  conversion  of  Gentiles  as  the  work  of  the  twelve  (Apol. 

i-  39)- 

27.  Gal.  i.  15  et  seq. 

28.  We  have  a  striking  example  in  Cor.  xi.  23. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

1.  Acts  xviii.  23. 

2.  Gal.  iv.  20. 

3.  See  Chap.  X.,  note  37. 

4.  In  one  sense  even,  for  the  fourth  time  since  on  his  first  mission,  Paul 

passed  again  through  each  one  of  the  cities  that  he  had  evangelized. 

5.  Acts  xviii.  23. 

6.  Acts  xx.  4. 

7.  Gal.  iv.  1 6,  20. 

8.  This  is  clear  from  Acts.  xx.  31,  compared  with  I.  Cor.  xxi.  8. 

9.  3>pvyiotv.     Acts  xviii.  23.     Compare  Strabo,  XIV.  ii.  29. 

10.  Col.  ii.  i. 

11.  Strabo,  XII.  viii.  16,  17;  XIV.  ii.  29. 

12.  rd  dwwrEpixa  nsprj.     Acts  xix.  i. 

13.  Iliad  ii.  461. 

14.  Horn.  Iliad,  ii.  459,  and  following;  Virg.  Aen.  vii.  699  and  following; 

Ovid.  Met.  v.  386,  and  following. 

15.  That  of  Aia-Solouk.     See  Edward  Falkener,  Ephesus  (London  1862,) 

p.  119  &c.,  149  &c.,  and  the  plans;  see  also  the  chart  of  the  Hydro- 
graphic  Office  (1836);  Laborde,  Voy.  de  PAsie  Min.  pi.  xliv.  xlv. 
and  Svoboda,  Remains  of  the  Seven  Churches  of  Asia  (Photo- 
graphed), Nos.  ii,  26  (London,  1867).  According  to  a  Greek 
Synaxis,  cited  by  Arundell,  Discoveries,  ii.  253,  this  hill  was  called 
Helibaton.  Not  having  been  able  to  verify  this  text,  I  am  afraid  tflat 
rfXifiarov  is  simply  an  epithet  of  the  hill.  Compare  Pococke,  De 
aedif.  v.  I. 

16.  Jos.  Ant.  XIV.  x.  n,  12,  13,  16,  19,  25;  XVI.  vi.  4.  7;  Philo.  Leg. 

§40. 

17.  Compare  in  our  days  Marseilles,  Leghorn,  Trieste. 

18.  Strabo,  XIV.  1.25;  Diog.  Laert.  IX.  i.  i. 

19.  Athenaeus,  xii.  28,  29. 

20.  Herodotus  V.  liv.  i  and  2 ;  Plut.  Life  of  Lysander,  3. 


392  SAINT  PAUL. 

21.  The  priests  had  the  title  of  kings  (Paus.  VIII.  xiii.  i).  The  name  of 
the  high  priest  is  sometimes  seen  on  the  coins.  Vaillant,  Numism. 
gr.  imp.  Rom.  p.  310,  313;  Eckhel.  D.  n.  v.  ii.  518,  519.  Com- 
pare Corpus  inscr.  gr.  Nos.  2954,  2987,  2987  b,  3002,  3003 ;  Tac. 
Ann.  iii.  62. 

''22.  Panionia  and  Oecumenica,  Artemisia,  Ephesia,  Bacchanalia,  Bal~ 
billia,  Liicullia.  Compare  Corpus,  inscr.  Gr.  No.  2954. 

23.  Strabo,  XIV.  i.  23. 

24.  Strabo,  XIV.  i.  20-23;  Tac-  Ann.  iii.  61 ;  Isidore  of  Pelus,  Epist.  ii. 

62 ;  Ph.it.  An  seni  sit.  resp.  24;  Corpus  inscr.  gr.  Nos.  2954,  2955, 
29630,  2983,  2990. 

25.  Strabo,  XII.  viii.  15;  XIV.  i.  24;  Plutarch,  Life  of  Lys.  3. 

26.  FrtodoxsTov  HOIVOV.    Strabo,  XII.  viii.  15.    The  port  where  Aquila 

and  Priscilla,  Paul  and  John  probably  landed,  is  now  a  pond  covered 
with  reeds. 

27.  Corpus  inscr.  gr.  Nos.  2957  et  seq. 

28.  <Pihod£/3a<5roS,  Corpus  inscr.  gr.  2961  b,  2966,  2972,  2987,  2987  b, 

2990,  2993,  2999,  3001 ;  <piXoKcti6(x.p*  2975. 

29.  Plut.  "Life  of  Alex."  3;  Artemidorus  of  Ephesus,  Oneirocritica',  Max- 

imus  of  Ephesus  in  the  fourth  century.  Cf.  Corpiis  insc.  gr.  No.  2953. 

30.  Philostratus,  Apoll.  iv.  2. 

31.  Herodotus,  VIII.  cv.  2;  Strabo,  XIV.  i.  23;  Philostratus,  Apoll.  iv.  2. 

32.  Lucian  Dial.   Meretr.  vii.  i. 

33.  Acts  xix.  19,  23,  et  seq. 

34.  "The  Matron  of  Ephesus";  jEfl/iesiacaofKenophon  of  Ephesus;  Chareas 

et  Callirrhbe  of  Chariton  of  Aphodisias. 

35.  Plut.  Life  of  Anthony,  24,  et  seq.;  Philostratus,  Apol.  iv.  2;  Pseudo- 

Heraclitus,  letter  vii. 

36.  Philostratus,  Apoll.  iv.  2. 

37.  Philostratus,  Apoll.  iv.  10. 

38.  There  were,  however,  some  true  savants  of  Ephesus;  Pliny,  Hist.  nat. 

xxxvii.  9;  later,  Rufus  of  Ephesus,  Soranus. 

39.  Suetonius,  Nero,  36 ;  Dion  Cassius,  Ixvi.  9. 

40.  Chandler,  Travels,  I.  ch.  xxv;  Falkener,  Ephesiis,  p.  in.    See,  how- 
*         ever,  Guhl.  Ephesiaca,  p.  178,  181. 

41.  Rom.  xvi.  5.     I  adopt  the  hypothesis  after  that  of  Rom.  xvi.  3-20,  is  a 

fragment  of  an  epistle  to  the  Ephesians :  First,  because  it  is  altogether 
improbable  that  Aquila,  Priscilla,  and  Epsenetus  were  at  Rome  when 
the  epistle  to  the  Romans  was  written ;  Second,  because  we  cannot 
conceive  how  Paul  should  salute  so  many  persons,  having  had  rela- 
tions with  him,  in  a  city  where  he  had  never  been ;  Third,  because 
the  xv. -xvi.  chapters,  if  they  are  similar,  present  four  endings  and  a 
distribution  contrary  to  the.usages  of  Paul.  See  the  introduction,  p.  40, 
et  seq. 


SAINT  PAUL.  393 

42.  Acts  xviii.  24,  et  seq. 

43.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  19.     The  words  Apud  quos  ct  hospitor  do  not  occur  in  the 

Greek,  but  the  fact  in  question  results  from  the  uniformity  of  the 
verse, 

44.  PhiL  Life  of  Alcib.  12;  Athenseus,  xii.  47. 

45.  The  rich  Ephesian  villas  seem  to  have  been  on  the  route  from  Ephesus 

to  Magnesia,  and  not  on  this  side.  [Communication  of  M.  Hyde 
Clarke.] 

46.  Eusebius,    II.  E.  iii.  39 ;  v.  24 ;  Synaxis  before  cited ;  Procopius,  De 

tjcdif.  v.  i ;  Ibn-Batoutah,  edition  Defremery  and  Sanguinetti,  ii.  p. 
308-309;  Arundell,  Discov.  ii.  p.  252,  et  seq. ;  Hamilton,  Res.  ii.  23. 

47.  The  modern  name  of  Ephesus,  Aia-Solouk,  seems  to  come  from  *Ayia 

&Eohoyov.  It  is  true  that  they  often  pronounce  and  write  Awslyk 
(Arundell  2,  252,)  from  which  one  is  tempted  to  see  the  Turkish  ter- 
mination lyk,  but  the  correct  orthography  is  Solouk.  (See  Ibn- 
Batoutoh,  ii.  p.  308.)  Compare  Dara  Soluk,  near  Sardis.  The 
gate  which  gives  entrance  to  the  citadel,  may  date  from  the  Christian 
epoch.  They  used  Pagan  sculpture,  which  they  interpreted  in  a 
Christian  sense. 

48.  The  presence  of  two  churches  among  the  ruins  of  ancient  Ephesus,  proves 

that  it  was  still  inhabited  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries.  However, 
if  Christian  Ephesus,  with  its  important  buildings,  had  existed  around 
Prion  and  Coressus,  more  traces  of  it  would  have  remained. 

49.  The  beautiful  mosque  of  A'ia-Solouk  can  in  no  way  be  identified  with 

the  basilica  of  St.  John,  notwithstanding  the  tradition  of  the  Greeks 
of  Tchirkindgi.  {Communication  of  M.  Hyde  Clarke.]  The  regu- 
larity of  the  plan  of  the  Mosque  relative  to  the  Mihrab  suffices  to 
prove  that  it  was  built  as  a  mosque.  An  Arabic  inscription  estab- 
lishes besides,  that  it  was  finished  in  1569  [communication  of  M. 
Waddington],  v.  Falkener,  p.  153,  et  seq.  Nothing  leads  to  the  sup- 
position that  the  mosque  was  built  on  the  site  of  the  basilica.  The 
basilica  was  situated  on  a  hill  Synaxis  before  cited,  and  Procopius. 
/.  c.  I  do  not  doubt  that  the  basilica  occupied  the  area  of  the  cita- 
del of  A'ia-Solouk.  The  passage  of  Ibn-Batoutah  on  the  churches  of 
Ephesus  is  too  vague  for  us  to  decide  anything  from  it. 

50.  A'ia-Solouk  has  regained  within  a  few  years  a  little  importance,  as  tem- 

porary head  of  the  railroad  from  Smyrna  to  Aidin. 

51.  Acts  xix.  1-5. 

52.  Hesychius,  s.  h.  v.  Suidas,  s.  h.  v.,  Prov.  graze,  e  Vatic,  Bibl.  append. 

cent.  i.  95  in  \h&Adagia  of  Schott,  Antwerp,  1612);  Corpus parccm. 
gr.  i.  p.  244;  ii.  p.  169,  Plut.  Qiuzst.  convi.  VII.  v.  4;  Alhemeus,  xii. 
70;  Clem,  of  Alex.  Strom,  i.  15;  v.  8;  Pausanias,  cited  in  Eusta- 
tliius  ad  Odyss.  xix.  247 ;  Stephani,  in  the  Mel.  greco-rom.  taken 


394  SAINT  PAUL. 

from  the  bull,  of  the  Acad.  of  Saint  Peter -s.,  b.  I.  p.  I,  et  seq.  Froeh- 
ner  in  the  Bulletin  de  la  Soc.  des  antiv.  de  Norm.  7th  year,  p.  217, 
et  seq.  The  use  made  in  the  Orient  of  the  names  of  the  "Seven 
Sleepers  of  Ephesus,"  as  talismans,  and  a  sequel  to  \he.Ephesia  Gram- 
mata. 

53.  Acts  xix.  13,  et  seq. 

54.  Philostratus,  Vita  Apoll.  iii.  sub  fin. 

55.  Acts  xix.  8,  et  seq. 

56.  The  best  manuscripts  omit  nvoZ. 

57.  Justin.  Dial,  cum  Typh.  I  (cf.  Eus.  H.  E.  iv.  18);  Philostr.  Apoll.  iv. 

3;  viii.  26;  Falkener  Eph.  plans  of  the  three  Gymnasiums.  Cf. 
Vitruv.  V.  x.  4.  Compare  the  gigantic  Scholar  still  extant  at  Hie- 
rapolis. 

58.  This  name  was  not  very  rare,  II.  Macch.  iv.  40;  Jos.  Ant.  XVI.  x.  3; 

B.  J.  I.  xxvi.  3;  Eus.  H.  E.  VIII.  xxxii.  3;  Le  Bas.  Inscr.  iii.  No. 
1439,  Suidas  (at  the  word  TvparroS)  mentions  a  Sophist  of  that 
name,  but  with  no  indication  of  place  nor  of  date. 

59.  Acts  xx.  20. 

60.  Acts  xx.  20,  31. 

61.  Acts  xx.  21. 

62.  Atts  xix.  12. 

63.  Cf.  Justin.  Dial,  cum  Tryph.  85;  Origen,  Contra  Celsum,  i.  25. 

64.  The  number  "Seven"  (Acts  xix.  14,)  is  doubtless  induced  by  the  num- 

ber of  which  a  demoniac  legion  was  usually  composed,  (Matt.  xii. 
45 ;  Mark  xvi.  9 ;  Luke  viii.  2 ;  xi.  26).  On  the  vague  meaning  of 
dpxi£pv$,  cf.  Schleusner,.  s.  h  v.;  Corpus  inscr.  gr.  No.  6406 
and  perhaps  6363. 

65.  Compare  Josephus,  Ant.  VIII.  ii.  5. 

66.  These  sorts  of  epidemics  of  demonology  are  not  rare  in  the  Orient.  Some 

years  ago,  there  were  at  one  time  in  the  little  village  of  Sai'da,  more 
than  three  hundred  persons  engaged  in  occult  sciences. 

67.  This  often  happened  to  me  in  Syria.    The  treasure-seekers,  taking  me  for 

a  comrade,  when  some  circumstance  more  or  less  trifling  had  convinced 
them  of  my  superiority,  would  come  to  communicate  to  me  their 
talismans  and  their  proceedings. 

68.  The  sense  of  rtpa&iS,  (v.  18)  is  determined  by  rtpa^arroav  (v.  19,) 

and  the  sense  of  this  last  word  by  TtepiEpya.  On  the  meaning  of 
TCepispya  as  synonym  of  yorfrind  see  Aristenetus  I.  ii.  ep.  xviii.; 
Irenseus  Adv.  hcer.  I.  xxiii.  4.  Cf.  Du  Cange  at  the  word  Vanitas. 

69.  Acts  xix.  13-19. 


SAINT  PAUL.  395 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

1.  Acts  xx.  20,  21. 

2.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  9. 

3.  Apoc.  ii.  2. 

4.  I.  Cor.  xv.  32  (on  the  meaning  of  Srjpionaxsiv,  comp.  Ignatius,  Epist. 

ad  Rom.  5;  Heb.  x.  33;  II.  Tim.  iv.  17);  xvi.  4,  7;  II.  Cor.  i.  8.  et 
seq.  The  Pseudo-Heraclitus  (letter  vii.  lines  50,  58-60,  Bernays, 
who  wrote  towards  this  time,  also  presents  the  Ephesians  as  beasts), 
£?  dvSpGoit&v  Srjpia  yeyovoreS. 

5.  Like  the  incident,  Acts  xix.  23  et  seq.     We  cannot,  however,  identify 

the  incident,  I.  Cor.  xv.  32,  and  xvi.  9,  with  the  incident,  Acts  xix.  23, 
et  seq. ;  this  being  of  the  last  days  that  St.  Paul  passed  at  Ephesus, 
and  he  not  having  acted  bravely  there. 

6.  Rom.  xvi.  4. 

7.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  19;  Acts  xix.  26;  Apoc.  i.  4,  n. 

8.  Epistles  supposed  to  be  from  St.  Ignatius  to  the  Trallians. 

9.  All  these  cities,  except  Sardis,  are  still  of  more  or  less  importance. 

10.  Cic.  Pro  Flacco,  28;  Jos.  Ant.  XII.  iii.  4;  XIV.  x.  u,  14,  20,  et  seq.; 

XVI.  vi.  2,  4,  6;  Acts  ii.  9. 

11.  See  the  ignoble  concourse  of  villany,  related  by  Tacitus,  Ann.  IV.  55, 

56.  Note  the  titles  of  3fo?  6vyKXr}To<s,  iepd  <5vyKX.ijro<>,  given 
to  the  Roman  Senate  in  this  province.  Waddington,  Voyage  numis- 
matique,  p.  8,  23,  etc;  the  same,  Explication  des  inscriptions,  of  Le 
Bas,  III.  p.  142;  Numismatic  chronicle,  new  series,  vol.  vi. ,  p.  119. 

12.  Impression  of  the  Greek  quarter  of  Smyrna,  on  Sunday.     (Observe  that 

cities,  even  when  there  have  been  long  gaps  in  their  existence,  have  a 
spirit  always  more  or  less  peculiar  to  themselves,  which  causes  them 
again  as  they  were. ) 

13.  On  the  function  of  the  Asiarchs,  see  Le  Bas  and  Waddington,  Inscr. 

III.  Nos.  5.  1580,  649,  885;  Churchill  Babington,  in  Numism. 
c/iron.t  new  series,  vol.  vi.  p.  93,  et  seq.,  Strabo,  XIV.  i.  42;  yElius 
Aristides,  Sacr.  VI.  531;  Acts  xix.  31;  Martyrdom  of  St.  Polycarp, 
12;  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  2912,  3148,  3190,  3191,  3213,  3324,  3421,  3426, 
3495.  3504.  3665,  3677;  Vaillant,  Num.  gr.  imp.  rom.  p.  312,  313; 
Mionnet.  II.  549,  617;  III.  61,  250;  IV.  55,  128,  140,  328,  347, 
362,  suppl.  V.  276,  505.  There  were  likewise  bithynarclis,  pon- 
tarchs,  and  galatarchs,  etc.  Cf.  Le  Bas.  III.  Nos.  1178,  1221,  1224, 
Perot,  Ex  pi.  of  the  Gal.  p.  199,  et  seq. 

14.  The   xoiroy   Adia's  designated  the  plays,  the  spectacles,   the  pane- 

gyrics, which  were  celebrated  by  turn  in  the  different  great  cities  of 
the  province. 


396  SAINT  PAUL. 

15.  At  Hierapolis,  for  example,  we  feel  a  true  elegance,  a  city  built  spon- 

taneously, and  not  officially;  nothing  of  the  socage  administration 
too  frequent  in  Roman  cities. 

1 6.  Ovid,  Pont.   II.  x.   21.     To   be   seen  especially  by  Aphrodisias  and 

Hierapolis,  still  well  preserved,  and  by  the  ruins  of  Laodicia,  etc. 
Cf.  Strabo,  XIV.  i.  37. 

17.  This  has  been  shown  by  the  cotton  crises,  and   it  will  be  still  more 

obvious  a  hundred  years  hence. 

1 8.  Jos.  B.  J.  II.  xv.  4. 

19.  Corpus  inscr.  gr.  Nos.   3154,  3192,  3304,   3408,  3485,  3495,  3496, 

3497,  3498»  3499>  35Q4,  3639  (see  Add.};  3858  e,  3924,  3938,  4340, 
g,  4346;  See  Add.;  Le  Bas,  Inscr.  III.  656,  755,  1571,  1687; 
Wagener,  hi  the  Revue  de  Vinstr.  pub  1.  en  Belgique,  1868,  I.  et 
seq. 

20.  Strabo,  XII.  iii.  29;   viii.   16;   XIV.  i.  42.  Cf.  Waddington,  Mel.  de 

Numism.  2d  series,  p.  124,  et  seq. 

21.  Strabo,  passage  cited. 

22.  Compare,  for  example,  the  grand  temple  of  Aphrodisias  with  the  monu- 

ments of  the  Acropolis. 

23.  Strabo,  XIII.  viii.  16;  Corpus  inscr.  gr.  Nos.  2947,  2948,  3835,  3936, 

etc.  These  inscriptions  enumerating  the  municipal  functions,  and  the 
bestowing  of  the  titles  of  svEpyerq's  and  of  Hri6Ti^^  are  innumer- 
able. See,  for  example,  Waddington,  Expl.  des  inscr.  of  Le  Bas, 
III.  No.  1693  b. 

24.  Strabo,  XII.  viii,  16;  XIII.  iv.  8;  XIV.  i.  42.     The  beautiful  ruins  of 

Anatolia  form  a  large  part  of  this  temple. 

25.  Tacitus,  Ann.    II.    47 ;    Strabo,    XII.    viii.    18.     Pliny,    Hist.    nat. 

II.  91. 

26.  Strabo.  XII.  viii.  16;  XIII.  iv.  14. 

27.  The  Tchoruk-Sou  of  the  Turks,  Strabo,  XII.  viii.  16;  Herod,  vii.  30; 

Pliny  v.  29;  Hamilton,  Res.  in  Asia  Minor,  I.  p.  509,  et  seq.;  La- 
borde,  Travels  in  Asia  Minor,  p.  102,  et  seq.,  and  plates.  For  the 
identification  of  the  Caprus,  see  Waddington,  Expl.  of  the  Inscrip. 
of  Le  Bas.  III.  No.  1693  a. 

28.  Col.  i.  2;  ii.  i;  iv.  13,  15,  16;  Apoc.  i.  u;  iii.  14. 

29.  Colossse  is  the  form  used  on  the  coins.     Mionnet.  IV.  p.  267,  268; 

suppl.  VII.  p.  540,  541;  Waddington.  Voy.  num.  p.  20;  Churchill 
Babington,  Numism.  chronicle,  new  series,  III.  p.  et  seq. 

30.  Laodicea  (Eski-ffissctr),  and  Hierapolis,  Tambouk  [and  not  Pambouk~\ 

Kalessi  are  to-day  deserted.  Denisli,  more  advantageously  situated 
at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  has  replaced  them.  Perhaps  the  bottom 
of  the  valley  having  become  unhealthful,  the  same  thing  happened 
here  as  at  Ephesus,  and  Ai'a-Solouk,  Colossse,  of  which  the  ruins  are 


SAINT    PAUL.  397 

seen  at  the  confluence  of  three  rivers  (Tchoruk-Sou,  Ak-Sou,  Bou- 
narbaschi-Sou)  in  the  plain,  is  also  abandoned  (see  Hamilton,  Res.  in 
Asia  Minor,  I.  508,  et  seq. ;  Laborde,  Voy.  de  f  Asie  Min.  p.  102,  ct 
seq. ).  Chonas,  which  is  a  league  from  it,  and  which  has  inherited  a 
part  of  its  importance,  is  the  Byzantine  city  of  XGJKO:/,  the  name  of 
which  has  nothing  in  common  with  that  of  Colossae,  although  it 
coincides  with  the  tunnels  or  gaps  of  the  disappearance  of  the  Lycus, 
near  Colossse.  Cf.  John  Curopalate,  Hist.  p.  686,  687  (Bonn). 
Chonas  may  properly  exist  independently  of  Colossse  as  a  military 
position  to  defend  a  passage  of  the  Cadmus. 

31.  Herodotus,  vii.  30;  Xenophon,  Anab.  I.  ii.  6;  Pliny,  v.  41. 

32.  The  ruins  of  Colossoe  are  those  of  a  very  secondary  city.     The  theatre 

is  mean.  Probably  the  city  was  not  greatly  restored  after  the  earth- 
quake of  the  year  60.  Tac.  Ann.  xiv.  27;  Eusebius,  Chronicle  ad 
ann.  10  Ner.;  Orosius,  viL  7).  The  site  of  Chonoe  must  have  been 
much  pleasanter. 

33.  The  Necropolis  of  Colossae  has  a  striking  character,  which  makes  it  like 

the  Necropolis  of  Semitic  countries.  The  half  columns  are  of  strange 
forms,  and  without  inscriptions.  Many  tombs  are  cut  in  the 
rocks. 

34.  Strabo.  XII.  viii.  16.     The  ruins  of  these  cities  are  of  the  first  order, 

truly  grand  and  beautiful. 
3£.   Baba-Dagh  and  Chonas-Dagh. 

36.  I  will  try  some  day  to  show  this,  dwelling  on  the  names  of  mountains, 

of  rivers,  of  cities,  and  on  other  particulars.  For  the  religion  of 
Laodicea,  see  Waddington,  Voy.  numism.  p.  26,  et  seq.  This  Zft)£ 
l4tf£r?:,  with  his  goat,  is  according  to  my  idea  the  Azazel  of  the 
Semitic  people. 

37.  Col.  i.  6,  7;  iv.  12,  13. 

38.  Ibid.  ii.   i. 

39.  Ibid.  i.  9;  ii.  i.  13. 

40.  Ibid.  iv.  13. 

41.  Ibid.  iv.  15. 

42.  Philem.  i.  2.  5.  7. 

43.  Ibid.  2. 

44.  Comp.  I.  Cor.  ix  5;  Rom.  xvi.  15.    Saint  John  Chrysostom  .and  Theo- 

doret  understand  it  so. 

45.  CoL  iv.  17;  Philem.  2. 

46.  Philem.  2.;  cf.  II.  Tim.  ii.  3. 

47.  Without  that,  we  should  not  understand  Philem.  i,  2. 

48.  Gal.  vi.  6. 

49.  Jos.  Ant.  XII.  iii.  4;   XIV.  x.   20;  Acts  it  10;  Cic.  Pro  Flacco,  28; 

Wagener,  in  the  Revue  de  finstr.  publ.  en  Bdg.  1868,  p.  3,  4.  14. 
34 


398  SAINT  PAUL. 

50.  This  is  the  date  which  the  latest  epigraphic  discoveries  assign  to  the 
letter  of  Pliny  to  Trajan  on  the  Christians.  Noel  Desverges,  in  the 
Comptes  rendus  de  F Academic  des  Inscriptions,  1866,  p.  83,  84; 
Mommsen,  in  the  Hermes,  III.  59,  96-98.  Berlin.  1868. 

51    Pliny,  Epist.  x.  97.     Comp.  I.  Peter  i.  i. 

52.  Corpus  inscr.  gr,  Nos.  3857,  g.  p.  3365  /  (cf.  2883^);   Le  Bas,  Inscr. 

iii.  Nos.  727,  783,  785,  and  the  notes  of  Waddington ;  Perrot,  Expl. 
de  la  Gal.  p.  126. 

53.  Corpus  inscr.  gr.   Nos.   3872  £,  <:,  3890,  3902,   3902,  f  n,  o,r,   3962 

b,  3963,  3980;  Le  Bas  and  Waddington,  Inscr.  iii.  Nos.  1654,  1703, 
1899;  cf.  Mutori.  Inscr.  1949,  3.  I  deem  all  these  Christian  in- 
scriptions. Notice  No.  3865  i,  of  Corpus,  where  we  see  equally  an 
effort  to  evade  the  heathen  formulae.  Compare  as  contrast,  in  Pisidia, 
the  inscriptions,  Nos.  4380  r,  s,  t. 

54.  Medals   of    Apamee   Kibotos.     Eckhel,    III.    132,    139;    Madden,  in 

Numismatic  chronicle,  new  series,  vol.  VI.  p.  173,  et  seq.  On  an 
analogous,  but  doubtful  peculiarity  of  the  coins  of  the  city  of  Mseonie, 
see  De  Witte,  and  Ch.  Lenomant,  in  the  Melanges  of  archeol.  of 
fathers  Martin  and  Chaier,  vol.  III.  p.  172,  et  seq.  196,  et  seq.  Inco- 
mium  also  adopted  the  fable  of  Enoch.  See  Stephen  of  Byz.  at  the 
word'/^oJ'ZOJ'.  Ch.  Muller,  Frag.  hist.  gr.  III.  524;  IV.  538,  et  seq. 
Cf.  Carm.  sybill.\*  261,  et  seq. ;  Herodotus,!!.  2;  Moses  of  Khorene  (?). 
Georgr.  p.  349  (II.  of  Mem.  of  Saint  Martin).  The  great  marsh  of 
Lycaonia  had  inspired  diluvian  myths.  Ovide,  Met.  viii.  et  seq. 

55.  Trophimus,  Tychicus,  Tryphenus,  Telesphorus,  Papias,  Onesimus,  Abas- 

cantius,  etc.  These  names  are  besides  common  to  all  of  western  Asia. 
Corpus  inscr.  gr.  2788,  3664,  3747  n,  3857  c,  k,  r,  t,  u,  3865  /,  3953  h, 
4224  c,  4388  (cf.  Garrucci,  Diss.  II.  p.  183);  Expl.  de  la  Gal.  p. 
127,  128;  Wagener,  Inscr.  d^Asie  Min.  p.  19;  Le  Bas,  Inscr. 
III.  22,  341,  358,  364  (notwithstanding  the  correction),  667,  718, 
737.  74i,  779.  781,  784,  792,  804,  805,  807,  808,  815,  818,  819, 
821,  822,  1104,  1671,  1690,  1774;  Waddington,  Voy.  num.  p.  55, 
134.  For  the  name  of  Grapte  (Pastor  of  Herm.  vis,  ii.  4.)  comp. 
Corp.  inscr.  gr.  3857  q;  Le  Bas.  III.  782,  1567  (see,  however,  Jos. 
B.  J.  IV.  ix.  n;  Orelli46io);  Pape.  Wcert.  s,  h,  v. 

56.  Notice,  especially,  Octi  v^i6rcp  (Le  Bas.  III.  No.  708.  Wagener,  p. 

39,  40).     Comp.  Miss,  de  Phen.  p.  234,  et  seq. 

57.  Perrot,  Explor.  de  la  Gal.  p.  118. 

58.  Corpus  inscr.  gr.  No.  3330. 

59.  Oscp  odicj  xai  8ixaicp.  Le  Bas.  (Waddington)  Inscr.  iii.  No.  1670. 

60.  Inscr.  No.   3847  n  of  the  Corpus,   1022  of  Le  Bas  (iii).   inscr.,  No. 

3857  »/  of  the  Corpus,  775  of  Le  Bas,  p.  125  of  Perrot;  Inscr.  No. 
3857  u  of  the  Corpus,  No.  779  of  Le  Bas.  inscr.  No.  3827^  of  the 
Corpus,  806  of  Le  Bas,  Inscr.  No.  3827  11  of  the  Corp.  Si 6  of  Le  Bas. 


SAINT  PAUL.  399 

61.  Strabo,  XII.  viii.  18;  XIII.  iv.  11. 

62.  I.  Peter  i.  i.  Cf.  Acts  ii.  9,  10. 

63.  Apoc.  ii.  and  iii. ;  Polycrates,  in  Eus.  H.  E.  v.  24. 

64.  Polycrates,  in  Eusebius,  1.  c. 

65.  All  of  his  writings. 

66.  Eusebius,  H.  E.  iv.  26 ;  v.  24.     He  had  written  on  the  Apocalypse. 

67.  Eusebius,  H.  E.  iv.  26;  v.  23,  25,  Chron.  pascale,  p.  6,  et  seq.  (Du 

Cange). 

63.  See 

69.  Denys  of  Cor.  in  Eus.  H.  E.  ii.  25. 

70.  Comp.  II.  Cor.  xi.  13. 

71.  See  pp.  201,  202. 

72.  Apoc.  ii.  2,  6. 

73.  Comp.  II.  Cor.  xi.  22.     PhiL  iii.  5. 

74.  Apoc.  it  9. 

75.  Comp.  I.  Cor.  viii ;  Acts  xv.  29.     See  note  75,  Chap.  X. 

76.  Apoc.  ii.  14,  15. 

77.  Symbolical  Designation  of  Paul,  considered  infidel,  and  encouraging 

infidelity. 

78.  Allusion  to  I.  Cor.  ii.  10.     Paul  often  designated  his  revelations  by  the 

name  of  "  Deep  things  of  God."    His  enemies,  for  irony,  substituted 
for  the  name  of  God  the  name  of  Satan. 

79.  Apoc.  ii.  20,  et  seq. 

80.  Apoc.  iii.  9. 

81.  Apoc.  iii.  i,  et  seq.;  14,  et  seq. 

82.  Rom.  xv.  20,  et  seq.;  II.  Cor.  x.  13,  16. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

1.  II.  Cor.  xi.  28. 

2.  Some  critics,  relying  upon  II.  Cor.  ii.  i;  xii.  14,  21;  xiii.  I,  2,  suppose 

that  Paul,  during  his  sojourn  at  Ephesus,  made  a  journey  to  Corinth, 
of  which  the  Acts  do  not  speak ;  but  these  passages  explain  themselves 
without  any  such  hypothesis. 

3.  Acts  xviii.  27,  28. 

4.  Acts  xviii.  24,  28;  I.  Cor.  iii.,  5,  et  seq. 

5.  Acts  xix.  i. 

6.  I.  Cor.  i.  10,  et  seq.;  iii.,  et  seq. ;  II.  Cor.  xii.  20.     The  church  of 

Corinth  kept  the  same  defects  a  long  time.  See  the  first  epistle  of 
Clement  Roman  to  the  Corinthians,  ch.  2,  3,  14,  46,  47,  54. 


400  SAINT  PA  UL. 

7.  T.  Cor.  L  17,  et  seq. 

8.  I.  Cor.  i.  12;  iii.  4. 

9.  Resulting  clearly  from  I.  Cor.  iii.  6,  8-ioj  iv.  6;  xvi.  12. 

10.  I.  Cor.  iv.  6. 

11.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  12. 

12.  Tit.  iii.  13. 

13.  II.  Cor.  v.  12;  x.  12,  et  seq.;  xi.  13,  16,  et  seq.;  Rom.  xv.  18,  2O. 

14.  II.  Cor.  iii.  i;  iv.  2;  v.  12;  x.  12,  18;  xii.  n.     Cf.  Recognit.  iv.  35; 

Homil.  pseudo-clem.  xi.  35. 

15.  I.  Cor.  ix.  2;  II.,  xii.  16.     Cf.  Jude  ii.  16. 

16.  I.  Cor.  ix.  2,  3. 

17.  I.  Cor.  ix.  i,  et  seq.;  II.  Cor.  xi.  7,  et  seq. 

1 8.  I.  Cor.  iv.  10,  12;  ix.  4,  et  seq.;  II.  Cor.  i.  12,  et  seq.;  iii.  i;  vi.  8; 

x.  10-12;  xi.  7. 

19.  Homil.  pseudo-clem.  xvii.  13-19. 

20.  II.  Cor.  v.  1 6. 

21.  I.  Cor.  i.  12;  II.  Cor.  xi.  4,  et  seq.;  xii.  n,  et  seq. 

22.  Oi  vitEpkiav  a.Tto6To\.oi. 

23.  II.  Cor.  v.  1 6;  x.  7. 

24.  Recognitions,  iv.  36. 

25.  II.  Cor.  xi.  1 8. 

26.  I.  Cor.  viii.  i,  et  seq.     Comp.  Recognitions,  iv.  36. 

27.  I.  Cor.  i.  12;  iii.  22;  .  Cor.  x.  7. 

28.  I.  Cor.  i.  22,  23;  xv.  12,  et  seq.     Cf.  Acts  xvii.  18,  32;  xxiv.  26.    The 

materialistic  objections  against  the  resurrection  still  remain  among  the 
heathens,  and  even  in  the  consciences  of  Christians.  See  Athenago- 
ras,  De  resurr.,  34;  Minutius  Felix,  Octav.,  ii.  34;  See  Arnobius  ii. 
13.  Orig.  Contra  Celsurn  I.  §  7;  V.  §  14,  et  seq.;  letter  of  the 
churches  of  Vienna  and  of  Lyon,  in  Eusebius  H.  E.  v.  i,  finally; 
Tatian,  Adv.  Gr.  6;  Irenoeus  v.  3;  Tertullian,  De  came  Christi, 
15 ;  Saint  Augustine,  De  civ.  Dei,  xxii.  4,  12,  et  seq.  For  the  inscrip- 
tions, see  Leblant,  in  the  Review  of  Christian  Art,  March,  1862, 
and  Inscr.  Chret.  de  la  Gaule,  I.  preface  p.  Ixxxvi.,  et  seq.  The  dis- 
appearance of  the  body  left  uneasiness.  The  popular  legends  arrange 
things  generally,  so  that  the  bodies  of  martyrs  are  not  entirely  de- 
stroyed ;  fire  leaves  them  unharmed,  beasts  do  not  devour  them.  The 
Pseudo-Phocylides  (v.  99-108)  forbids  the  dissecting  of  the  corpses, 
and  orders  them  to  be  buried  with  care,  in  view  of  the  resurrection. 

29.  I.  Cor.  i.  17,  et  seq.;  ii.  i,  et  seq.  13. 

30.  I.  Cor.  v.  9,  et  seq.;  vi.  12,  et  seq.;  x.  8. 

31.  Acts  xv.  29. 

32.  I.  Cor.  v.  i,  et  seq.;  vii. 

33.  I.  Cor.  iv.  6,  8;  xi,  16-19;  xiii.  4,  et  seq.;  II.  Cor.  xii.  20. 


SAINT  PAUL.  401 

34.  I.  Cor.  xiv.  36. 

35.  I.  Cor.  xiv.  23,  et  seq. 

36.  I.  Cor.  xii.  15,  et  seq.;  xiii.  4. 

37.  I.  Cor.  xiii.  5;  xiv.  33,  39. 

38.  I.  Cor.  xiv.  40. 

39.  I.  Cor.  xi.  3,  et  seq.;  xiv.  33-35. 

40.  See  the  grotesque  etymology  of  H£$v£ivt  in  Philo.  De plantat.  Noft 

§39- 

41.  I.  Cor.  xi.  20,  et  seq.     Cf.  Jude  12. 

42.  I.  Cor.  xi.  30. 

43.  Comp.  I.  Thess.  iv.,  13,  et  seq. 
44.  .JUCor.  v.  5;  xi.  30-32. 

45.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  15-17. 

46.  I.  Cor.  v.  9,  et  seq. 

47.  Navigation  was  not,  in  fact,  resumed  until  about  the  2Oth  of  March 

(Acts  xxvii.  9;  xxviii.  n  ;  Vegetius,  De  re  mil  it.,  iv.  39).  But  the 
first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians  was  written  before  the  Penetcost  (I. 
Cor.  xvi.  8),  and  probably  even  at  the  time  of  the  Passover  (I.  Cor. 

v.  7,  8-) 

48.  I.  Cor.  i.  ii. 

49.  Acts  xix.  21. 

50.  Acts  xix,  22;  I.  Cor.  iv.  17;  xvi.  10,  II. 

51.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  ii. 

52.  Comp.  Rom.  xvi.  23;  II.  Tim.  iv.  20. 

53.  Acts  xix.  22;  I.  Cor.  xvi.  10. 

54.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  5. 

55.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  10. 

56.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  17,  1 8. 

57.  The  Latin  version  has  inserted  these  last  two  names  in  the  I5th  verse  at 

random. 

58.  I.  Cor.  vii.  i;  viii.  i;  xii.  i;  xvi.  i. 

59.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  17,  1 8. 

60.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  8. 

61.  I.  Cor.  iv.  19;  xi.  34;  xvi  3,  et  seq.,  n. 

62.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  5. 

63.  I.  Cor.  i.  i.     Comp.  xvi.  21. 

64.  Is.  xxix.  14. 

65.  Comp.  Matt.  xvi.  i,  et  seq. 

66.  That  is  to  say,  the  spiritual  phenomena  and  the  miracles. 

67.  Jobv.  13. 

£8.  Psalms  xciv.  ii. 

69.  That  is  to  say,  in  such  or  such  a  master,  Paul,  Apollos,  &c. 

34* 


402  SAINT  PAUL. 

70.  Analogous  proverb  to  our  "plus  royaliste  que  le  roi."     Paul  alludes  to 

those  who  were  more  enthusiastic  for  Paul  and  Apollos,  than  Paul 
and  Apollos  themselves. 

71.  Without  the  help  of  Paul  and  Apollos. 

72.  I.  Cor.  v.  i,  et  seq. 

73.  Cf.  I.  Tim.  i.  20.     See  The  Apostles,  p.  87,  et  seq. 

74.  Acts  v.  i-n.     Comp.  Acts  xiii.  9.  n. 

75.  I.  Cor.  v.  9,  et  seq. 

76.  I.  Cor.  v.  10,  n;  vi.  9,  10. 

77.  Ibid.  Schleusner,  on  the  words  itT^EovEHT^^  -jtXsrEc,a. 

78.  Jos.  Ant.  XIV.  x.  17;  Code,  lib.  I.  tit.  ix.  De  Judceis  et  calicolis,  law  8. 

Cf.  Epist.  Clem,  adjac.,  §  10,  at  the  head  of  pseudo-Clem.  Homilies. 

79.  I.  Cor.  vi.  12,  et  seq. 

80.  I.  Cor.  vii.  i,  et  seq. 
Si.   I.  Cor.  vii.  39. 

82.  I.  Cor.  vii.  26. 

83.  Matt.  xxix.  19;  Mark  xiii.  17;  Luke  xxi.  23;  cry  of  Jesus,  son  of  Hanan, 

in  Jos.  B.  J.,  VI.  v.  3.   ' 

84.  Of  twenty-six  persons  mentioned,  Rom.  xvl  3-16  names  not  more 

than  three  couples  married. 

85.  I.  Cor.  vii.  36. 

86.  I.  Cor.  vii.  9. 

87.  I.  Cor.  vii.  37,  38. 

88.  I.  Cor.  vii.  29-35. 

89.  Talm.  of  Bab.  Jebamoth,  63  b.,  et  seq. 

90.  Ibid. 

91.  Eph.  v.  22,  23.     We  may  doubt  this  epistle's  being  the  work  of  Paul. 

92.  Gen.  ii. 

93.  I.  Cor.  viii.  i,  et  seq. 

94.  Acts  xv.  20;  Apoc.  ii.  14,  15,  20;  Justin,  Dial,  cum  Tryp.,  35;  Pseudo- 

Clem.  Recognit.  iv.  36;  Pliny,  Epist. ,  x.  97  (passim  venire  victimas). 

95.  I.  Cor.  vi.  2;  x.  22-24,  33. 

96.  I.  Cor.  viii.  10;  x.    14,  et  seq.     Comp.   II.   Cor.  vi.  14,  et  seq.     Cf. 

Homil.  pseudo-clem.  vii.  4,  8. 

97.  I.  Cor.  x.  27,  et  seq. 

98.  I.  Cor.  x.  31-33. 

99.  Allusion  to  the  attacks  of  the  Judo-Christians. 

100.  Comp.  I.  Cor.  x.  %$ 

101.  The  Isthmian  games,  well  known  among  the  Corinthians. 

102.  Comp.  Horace  Art  poet.  v.  412. 

103.  I.  Cor.  be  I,  et  seq. 

104.  I.  Cojx^iv.  33-35. 

105.  Coinp.  Eph.  v.  22,  et  seq. 


SAINT  PAUL.  408 

1 06.  I.  Cor.  xi.  3,  et  seq.     Cf.  Sifro  on  Nombr.  v.  18. 

107.  Cf.  Tertullian,  Contra  Marcion,  v.  8.     De  virginibus  velandis. 

108.  See  Psalm   cxxxviii.  i;    Buxtorf,  Synogoga  c.  x,  p.  222;    c.   xv.  p. 

306  (Ball.  1661). 

109.  Gen.  vi.  2,  and  the  Targum  of  Jonathan  on  this  passage.    Testam.  of  the 

twfh'f  patriarchs,  Reuben  5.  According  t  o  Jewish  ideas,  the  voice 
and  the  hair  of  women  are  nudities.  Talm.  of  Bab.  Berakotk  24  a. 
no.  Tobias  xii.  12,  15;  Apoc.  viii.  3,  et  seq.;  Enoch,  in  the  Syncele,  p.  43 
(Bonn);  Evang.  de  la  nat.  de  sainte  Marif,  c.  4;  Porphyrus,  De 
abstin.,  ii.  38.  The  Christian  authorities,  Tertullian,  Origen,  Saint 
Ephraim,  Saint  Augustin,  are  omitted, 

111.  Comp.  Col.  iii.  18;  Eph.  v.  22,  23. 

112.  I.  Cor.  xi.  20,  et  seq. 

113.  Compare,  for  example,  I.  Cor.  x.  17;  xii.  27. 
JI4.  I.  Cor.  x.  1 6-i 8. 

115.  I.  Cor.  xi.  23-29.     I  have  followed  the  shortest  and  most  authentic 

text  of  the  Codex  Vaticanus  and  of  the  Codex  Sinaiticus,  banishing 
the  little  additions  of  the  received  text,  which,  besides,  only  explain 
the  sense. 

1 1 6.  Comp.  I.  Cor.  v.  5. 

117.  Comp.  Ep.  of  Jude,  12. 

1 1 8.  I.  Cor.  xii-xiv.     Comp.  Rom.  xii.  3-8;  Eph,  iv.  7,  et  seq.;  I.  Peter 

iv.  10,  n.     Justin,  Dial,  cum  Tryp.,  39. 

119.  Xapi<5/j.ara. 
120. 

121. 

122.  I.  Cor.  xii.  28.     Paul  does  not  name  here  the  TtpEtifivrEpoi,  nor  the 

ETtitinortoi.  It  seems,  besides,  that  for  Paul  these  three  degrees  of 
the  hierarchy  are  EVEpyrj/nara.;  comp.  I.  Cor.  xii.  6  to  GaL  ii.  8. 
In  the  Epistle  to  the  Epheeians  (iv.  n),  the  evangelists  and  the  pas- 
tors Ttoifj.£Vf.c>  identical,  doubtless,  with  the  EnitiKOTtoi,  rank  amovig 
the  prophets  and  doctors.  Thus  the  functions  in  this  epistle  are  five 
in  number. 

123.  I.  Cor.  xii.  4.,  et  seq.,  28-30;  xiv.  5,  6,  26. 

124.  A6yo<3  6o(pia<s. 

125.  Aoyo<->  yvao6eco<3. 

126.  IlidrtS. 

127.  Xapidjuara  iandr GOV . 

128.  Evspyrmara  dvvdnEcov,  or 

129.  Aia.Hpi6E.ic>  7trEVfj.cfa(*)v. 

130.  Tf.vrj 
131. 

132. 


404  SAINT  PAUL. 

133.  KvfiepvijdEi?.     These  last  two  functions  were  evidently  deaconships. 

the  other  eight  exercises  may  be  considered  as  ^arpi'tf^arar,  with  the 
exception  of  the  fifth,  which  is  a  kvpitiyrjua.  The  "revelation" 
(drtoxdA-vfoc),  xiv.  6,  26,  is  not  a  permanent  gift,  but  a  passing 
favor  made  to  a  believer. 

134.  Ovd£7tOTS  tXTtlltTEl. 

135.  II.  Cor.  iii.  6. 

136.  I.  Cor.  xiv.  entire. 

137.  rA.(2d6a  for  the  classics  means  always  a  strange  or  foreign  word,  a 

word  which  needs  interpretation.  The  " Glossaries"  are  collections 
of  words  to  explain. 

138.  I.  Cor.  xii.  3;  xvi.  22. 

139.  I.  Cor-  i.  7,  8;  iii.  13;  iv.  5;  vi.  23;  vii.-26,  29,  et  seq.;  xi.  26;  xv. 

entire;  xvi.  22.     Cf.  Tim,  iv.  i. 

140.  I.  Cor.  xv.  3,  et  seq. 

141.  I  follow  the  reading  of  manuscript  B,  of  the  Vatican,  which  is  also  that 

of  the  received  text.     Comp.  I.  Thess.  iv.  12,  et  seq. 

142.  Is.  xxv.  8.,  punctuated  differently  from  the  Masore,  and  badly  trans- 

lated. 

143.  Hosea  xiii.  14  read  like  the  Septuagint,  differently  from  the  Masore, 

and  badly  translated. 

144.  I.  Thess.  iv.  16,  I.  Cor.  xv.  51,  52. 

145.  I.  Cor.  xv.  30-32. 

146.  Compare  Phil.  iv.  5. 

147.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  22. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

1.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  10,  n. 

2.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  12. 

3.  c.Titus  iii.  13.     This  epistle  is  apocryphal,  and  shows  only  the  opinion 

which  was  formed  on  the  surroundings  of  Paul  at  the  time  it  was 
written.  * 

4.  Those  who  maintain  the  authenticity  of  the  epistles  to  Timothy  and  Titus, 

place  here  a  voyage  of  Paul  not  mentioned  in  the  Acts,  and  of  which 
the  itinerary  would  have  been  Ephesus,  Crete,  Corinth,  Neapolis  of 
Epirus,  Macedonia,  Ephesus.  We  have  shown  in  the  introduction 
the  reasons  which  prevent  our  admitting  this  hypothesis. 

5.  II.  Cor.  x.  16;  Rom.  xv.  24-28. 

6.  Rom.  x.  23. 


SAINT  PAUL.  405 

7.  Acts  xix.  21 ;  xxiii.  n;  Rom.  i.  10,  et  seq.;  xv.  22  et  seq. 

8.  Gal.  ii.  10. 

9.  Rom.  xv.  26. 

10.  Jos.  Ant.  XX.  ix.  7. 

11.  Acts  xi.  29,  30;  II.  Cor.  ix.  12. 

12.  Rom.  xv.  27. 

13.  Cicero,  Pro  Flacco,  28;  Jos.  Ant.  XIV.  x.  6,  8;  XVI.  vi.   entire; 

XVIII.  iii.  5;  Philo.  Leg.  ad  Cainm,  §  23;  Tacitus,  Hist.  V.  5. 
This  custom  tends  to  become  re-established  in  our  day  among  the 
Jews. 

14.  II.  Cor.  ix.  12-14;    Rom-  xv.  31. 

15.  II.  Cor.  viii.  10;  ix.  2. 

1 6.  In  the  lost  letter.     That  which  he  says  I.  Cor.  xvi.  1-4,  supposes  that 

there  had  long  been  question  of  it. 

17.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  i. 

18.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  1-4. 

19.  II.  Cor.  viii.  19. 

20.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  n;  II.  Cor.  i.  i.     It  is  possible,  however,  that  Timothy 

did  not  go  as  far  as  Ephesus,  and  tarried  in  Macedonia,  where  Paul 
found  him  again. 

21.  II.  Cor.  vii.  6,  et  seq. 

22.  II.  Cor.  i.  15,  1 6. 

23.  II.  Cor.  ii.  13;  vii.  6,  et  seq.;  xii.  18. 

24.  II.  Cor.  viii.  6. 

25.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  10,  II. 

26.  II.  Cor.  vii.  14. 

27.  II.  Cor.  xii.  1 8;  Comp.  viii.  18-22. 

28.  II.  Cor.  i.  4,  et  seq.;  iv.  8,  et  seq. 

29.  II.  Cor.  i.  8. 

30.  Acts  xx.  19;  xxi.  27. 

31.  Acts  xix.  23,  et  seq. 

32.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  9. 

33.  IT.  Cor.  i.  8-10;  vi.  9. 

34.  Acts  xix.  23,  et  seq. 

35.  Strabo  XIV.  i.  26. 

36.  Among  the  numerous  inscriptions  of  Ephesus,  there  are  few  that  do  not 

speak  of  the  temple.  Corpus  inscr.  gr.  Nos.  2953  b,  et  seq. ;  Le 
Bas  and  Waddington,  inscr.;  III.  No.  136,  a,  et  seq.  Remark, 
especially,  the  frequent  return  of  the  title  of  VEODTCOTO^.  See  Acts 
xix.  35,  comparing  Corp.,  No.  2972,  and  Eckhel,  D.  n.  v.  II.  p.  52, 
et  seq.  Notice  also  the  ispeiai  rift  Apre/uido?.  Corp.  Nos. 
2986,  3001,  3002,  etc.  Cf.  Herodotus,  I.  26;  Elien,  Hist.  var. 
III.  26. 


406  SAINT  PAUL. 

37.  See  Dion  Cassius  XXXIX.  20.     Comp.  EtZ  rrj 

VTto/j.v.  avK>v.,  published  by  Conrad  Neobarius,  Paris,  1539,  folio 
26,  verse, — lines  28,  29.  For  the  figured  monuments,  see  the  Abbe 
Greppo,  Recherches  sur  les  temples  portatifs  des  anciens,  (Lyons, 
1834.)  p.  22,  et  seq. 

38.  The  theatre  of  Ephesus  is  of  Roman  construction,  but  it  may  have 

been  built  before  Nero.  Besides  it  has  been  retouched  several  times. 
Corp.  inscr.  gr.  No.  2976;  Texier,  Asie  Min.  p.  315. 

39.  Falkener,  Ephesus ,  p.  102,  et  seq. 

40.  Falkener,  op.  cit.     Hypothetic  plans  of  Ephesus. 

41.  There  were  several  asiarchs  at  a  time.     See  the  passages  of  Strabo  and 

^Elius  Aristides,  cited  above.  When  a  person  had  once  been  an 
asiarch  he  kept  the  title.  See  the  inscriptions  cited  above,  note  13, 
Chap.  XIII.;  and  Perrot,  De  Gal.  prov.  Rom.  p.  156,  et  seq. 

42.  The  role  of  this  Alexander  remains  in  the  Acts  altogether  undecided. 

43.  rp<xjii/iiar£v<3,  important  charge  in  the  cities  of  Asia.     Vaillant,  Num. 
gr.  imp.  rom.  p.  313,  114. 

44.  The  province  of  Asia  being  senatorial,  had  no  Roman  legion.     The 

police  was  chiefly  in  the  hands  of  the  natives. 

45.  II.  Cor.  i.  15,  1 6. 

46.  II.  Cor.  i.  17-23;  ii.  I,  2. 

47.  II.  Cor.  vii.  6,  et  seq. 

48.  II.  Cor.  x.  i,  2,   10,  II. 

49.  II.  Cor.  ii.  3. 

50.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  5,  et  seq. 

51.  Acts  xx.  i. 

52.  Acts  xx.  4;  II.  Cor.  viii.  19. 

53.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  8. 

54.  Acts  xx.  31. 

55.  Rom.  xvi.  17-20.     It  must  be  remembered  that  Rom.  xvi.  3-20,  is  a 

fragment  of  an  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians. 

56.  Apoc.  II.  i.  et  seq. 

57.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  19;  Rom.  xvi.  3-5;  II.  Tim.  iv.  19. 

58.  Rom.  xvi.  5.    The  reading  A^OLIO.*,  is  certainly  bad.    Compare  ibid.  12. 

59.  Rom.  xvi.  6.     2"yua£  seems  the  good  reading.     Compare  ibid.,  12. 

60.  Rom.  xvi.  9. 

6 1.  Rom.  xvi.  10. 

62.  Ibid.  13. 

63.  Compare  Le  Bas,  Inscr.  III.  804  (cf.  Perrot  Expl.  p.  120)  and  1104. 

64.  Rom.  xvi.  12. 
65:  Ibid.  8. 

66.  Ibid.  1 1.    Paul  calls  it  6vyytvri$.    See  The  Apostles^  p.  108  to  168. 

67.  Rom.  xvi.  14. 


SAINT  PAUL.  407 

68.  Compare  I.  Cor.  ix.  5;  and  also  Philem.  2. 

69.  Rom.  xvi.  15. 

70.  Rom.  xvi.  10. 

71.  Ibid.  n.      Paul  not  saluting  these  two  persons,  we  must  conclude  that 

they  were  not  Christians.     Note  the  difference  of  verses  5-14,  15. 

72.  Acts  xx.  4;  CoL  iv.  7,  et  seq. ;  Ephes;  vi.   21;  II.  Tim.  iv.  12;  Tit.  iii. 
t  12.     About  this  name,  see  Corpus  inscr.  gr.  No.  3855  *'. 

73.  Acts  xx.  4;  xxl   29;  II.  Tim  iv.  20. 

74.  See  The  Apostles  y  p.  108. 

75.  Rom.  xvi.  7. 

76.  Tit.  iii.  12.     His  name  (Artemidorus)  his  association  to  Tychicus  and 

the  role  he  plays  in  the  epistle  to  Titus,  causes  us  to  believe  him  an 
Ephesian. 

77.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  No.  3664,  line  17. 

78.  This  name  seems  to  belong  to  the  city  of  Phygelus,  near  Ephesus.     See 

an  inscription  of  Scala-Nova.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  No.  3027. 

79.  I.  Tim.  i.   20;  II.  Tim.  i.  15;  ii.    17;  iv.    14,  15.     The  destination  of 

these  two  letters  (apocryphal)  appears  to  be  Ephesus. 

80.  Cf.  corp.  inscr.  gr.  No.   3664,  line  52;  4213;  Mionnet,  II.   546. 

81.  II.  Tim.  i.  16-18;  iv.  19. 

82.  For  example,  Tryphosa. 

83.  I.  Cor.  vii.  21-22. 

84.  Inscr.  of  Lanuvium,  2d  col.  line  3,  et  seq. 

85.  Inscr.   No.    77    of  Pittakis  in    the  Ecprj/AEpiS    apxatohoyinrf  of 

Athens,  1838,  p.  121. 

86.  Arrian,  Epict.  Dissert.  III.  26;  Dio  Chrysostom  orat.  XIV.  p.  269, 

et  seq.  (Emperius) ;  Cf.  p.  167,  and  in  our  fourth  volume,  concerning 
the  I*Petri. 

87.  The  exquisite  politeness  of  Paul's  letters  is  proof  of  it. 

88.  Gaiety  is  a  prevailing  characteristic  of  Paul's  Christians.     II.  Cor.  vi. 

10;  xiii.  u;  Rom.  xii.  8-12-15;  xiv-  !7J  phji-  "•  *7»  18. 

89.  Tertullian  Apol.  39. 

90.  Remark  for  example,  the  smiling  figures  of  the  Catacombs,  for  example, 

the  fossor  Diogenes  (Boldetti,  p.  60.) 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


1.  Compare  Acts  xx.  13. 

2.  II.  Cor.  ii.  13. 

3.  Acts  xvi.  9,  et  seq. 

4.  II.  Cor.  ii.  12, 


4°8  SAINT  PAUL. 

5.  The  Latin  inscriptions  of  this  city  prove  it.     See  Le  Bas  and  Wad- 

dington.     Inscr.  III.  Nos.  1731,  et  seq. 

6.  II.   Tim.  iv.   13.      Cf.   Corp.  inscr.  gr.  No.   3664,  line  17;  Ann.  de 

FInst.  archeoL,  1868,  p.  93. 

7.  Acts  xx.  6,  et  seq. 

8.  I.  Cor.  ii.  13,  et  seq. 

9.  Acts  xx.  i,  2. 

10.  Compare  I.  Cor.  xvi.  8,  and  xx.  2,  3,  6-16. 

11.  Phil.  ii.  12;  iii.  18. 

12.  Acts  xx.  4. 

13.  II.  Cor.  I  4,  et  seq.;  vii.  4,  5. 

14.  Ibid.  viii.  i,  et  seq. 

15.  Phil.  iii.  1 8,  19. 

1 6.  II.  Cor.  vii.  6,  et  seq. 

17.  Seep.  234. 

18.  II.  Cor.  viL  7,  ii,  15. 

19.  Ibid.  vii.  13,  15. 

20.  Ibid.  viii.  6,  et  seq. 

21.  II.  Cor.  ii.  6. 

22.  Ibid.  xii.  1 8. 

23.  Ibid.  vii.  8.  et  seq. 

24.  II.  Cor.  I   12,  et  seq.  23;  ii.  i,  et  seq.  9;  iii.  i,  et  seq.;  vii.  2,  et  seq. 

12,  et  seq.;  x.  9,  et  seq.;  xi.  i,  et  seq. 

25.  II.  Cor.  i.  i.     Compare  I.  Cor.  i.  i.    The  person  that  Paul  joins  in  the 

superscription  is  usually  the  one  who  serves  as  Secretary.  If  this  had 
been  simply  a  mark  of  respect,  he  would  have  used  this  time  the 
name  of  Titus. 

26.  II.  Cor.  i.  4,  et  seq.;  vii.  4,  et  seq. 

27.  II.  Cor.  i.  15,  et  seq. 

28.  II.  Cor.  ii.  2. 

29.  Ibid.  vii.  8,  et  seq. 

30.  Ibid.  ii.  5-11;  vii.  II,  12. 

31.  II.  Cor.  vii.  14. 

32.  KaTtrjXEvovreti. 

33.  II.  Cor.  ii.  17;  iv.  2. 

34.  Ibid.  iii.  i;  v.  12;  x.  12,  1 8;  xii.  II. 

35.  Ibid.  xi.  13,  et  seq. 

36.  Ibid.  v.  1 6.     Paul  seemed  here  to  allude  to  a  period  of  his  life  when  he 

preached  Jesus  after  the  manner  of  the  apostles  of  the  circumcision ; 
which  they  sometimes  recall  to  make  him  contradict  himself. 

37.  II.  Cor.  x.  compare  iii.  1-6. 

38.  Ephes.  iii.  8. 

39.  I.  Cor.  xv.  9,  10;  compare  II.  Cor.  iii.  5. 


SAINT  PAUL.  409 

40.  Oi  vitepXiav  drtotiroXoi;  an  emphatic  expression  of  which  hieroso- 

lymite  emissaries  probably  made  use,  and  that  Paul  retakes  in  irony. 
This  expression  lias  been  supposed  to  apply  to  the  adversaries  of  Paul 
at  Corinth;  those  whom  he  calls  the  lowest  WevSaTtodrokai. 
But  it  seems  impossible  that  throughout  this  passage  Paul  compares 
himself  to  people  so  inferior  as  these  detractors  of  Corinth.  Compare 
I.  Cor.  xv.  10 ;  and  II.  Cor.  x.  13,  et  seq.  In  truth  the  WevSarto- 
tfro/lor  of  Corinth  being  the  praisers  of  Peter,  and  the  apostles 
of  Jerusalem.  Paul  confounds  them,  to  a  certain  point,  in  his  reply. 

41.  II.  Cor.  xi.  5-12. 

42.  II.  Cor.  xi.  i,  et  seq.     The  literal  translation  of  this  piece  would  be 

unintelligible.  We  have  sought  to  render  the  exact  idea  and  the 
spirit. 

43.  See  "  The  Apostles,"  p.  238. 

44.  Compare  I.  Cor.  xvi.  5,  et  seq.     II.  Cor.  i.  15,  et  seq.      It  would  cer- 

tainly be  more  natural  to  suppose  that  Paul  wished  to  say  that  he 
had  been  twice  to  Corinth.  II.  Cor.  (II.  Cor.  ii.  i;  xii.  14,  21; 
xiii.  i).  But,  besides  that  Acts  only  speaks  of  two  sojourns  of  the 
apostle  at  Corinth,  all  the  series  of  facts  supposed  by  the  two 
epistles  to  the  Corinthians,  exclude  the  hypothesis  of  an  intermediate 
sojourn  between  the  two  certain  sojourns.  See  II.  Cor.  xii.  21;  xiii.  2. 

45.  II.  Cor.  xi.  xii.  and  xiii.     Cf.  ii.  3. 

46.  II.  Cor.  viiu  1-5. 

47.  II.  Cor.  viii.  21;  Rom.  xii.  17. 

48.  Rom.  xv.  28. 

49.  II.  Cor.  viii.  19-21,  23;  Acts  xx.  4;  I.  Cor.  xvi.  3,  4;  Phil.  ii.  25. 

50.  II.  Cor.  viii.  ix. 

51.  Exodus  xvi.  1 8. 

52.  II.  Cor.  viii.  6,  16,  17. 

53.  II.  Cor.  viii.  18-22;  compare  ibid.  xii.  18.     There  is  no  sufficient  rea- 

son to  believe  that  in  either  of  these  passages  reference  is  made  to  a 
real  brother  of  Paul  or  of  Titus. 

54.  II.  Cor.  viii.  4;  prevents  from  thinking  of  the  Macedonians  of  Acts  xx. 

4.  Luke  would  be  the  person  best  suited ;  but  then  the  brevity  of 
Acts  xx.  1—3  ;  compared  to  the  prolixity  which  predominates  on  the 
part  of  Acts  xx.  4,  et  seq. ,  are  not  explained.  Luke  does  not  rejoin 
Paul  until  the  last  passage  to  Philippi. 

55.  II.  Cor.  viii.  24. 

56.  Compare  Eccles.  xxv.  n. 

57.  II.  Cor.  viil  6,  16,  18,  22,  23;  ix.  5. 

58.  II.  Cor.  i,  4,  6;  viil  2;  xii.  12;  Rom.  v.  3;  viii.  17,  18,  35-37;  xii.  12. 

59.  II.  Cor.  vi.  4-10. 

60.  Cor.  xiii.  n. 

35 


SAINT  PAUL. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

1.  II.  Cor.  ix.  4;  Acts  xx.  4.  Comp.  Rom.  xvi.  21,  22  (^ooTta.rpo's  2(atfi- 

Ttarpo^'y  II.  Cor.  viii.  19,  23;  I.  Cor.  xvi.  3,  4;  Acts  xx.  2,  3," im- 
plies that  the  Macedonians  went  to  Corinth  with  Paul,  and  that  the 
latter  did  not  take  them  upon  his  second  passage  into  Macedonia. 
Rom.  xvi.  21,  22,  proves  the  same  thing. 

2.  Rom.  xvi.  21. 

3.  Acts  xx.  4.     They  are  not  named  in  Romans  xvi. 

4.  Rom.  xvi.  21 ;  Acts  xx.  4. 

5.  I.  Cor.  xvi,  6,  7;  II.  Cor.  i.  16;  Acts  xx.  3. 

6.  Rom.  xvi.  23  (Greek  text);  I.  Cor.  i.  14. 

7.  II.  Cor.  vi.  14;  vii.  i,  a  passage  out  of  place. 

8.  An  inference  from  the  whole  of  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 

9.  Rom.  xv.  1 8,  20. 

10.  Rom.  xv.  26. 

11.  The  expression  EUK\.rj6iai  rtadai  (Rom.  xvi.  16)  supposes  that  the 

apostle  had  just  left  the  churches  of  Macedonia. 

12.  In  fact,  the  epistle  has  four  endings,  xv.  33;  xvi.  20;  xvi.  24;  xvi.  27. 

The  portion,  xvi.  3,  20,  or  at  least  xvi.  3,  16,  is  certainly  addressed  to 
the  church  of  Ephesus.  The  ending  xvi.  25,  27,  is  placed  in  excellent 
texts,  at  end  of  Chap.  xiv.  In  the  Codex  Alexandrimts  it  occurs 
twice,  at  end  of  Chap,  xiv.,  and  end  of  Chap.  xvi.  Without  doubt,  one 
of  the  circular  epistles  ended  with  Chap.  xiv.  In  fact,  Chap.  xv.  is 
composed  of  two  parts,  ist,  The  verses  1-14,  which  only  repeat 
Chap.  xiv.  and  which  surely  did  not  occur  in  the  letters  which  con- 
tained Chap.  xiv.  2d,  The  verses,  14-33,  which  are  peculiar  to 
Romans.  The  comparison  of  the  epistles  to  Colossians  and  to  Ephe- 
sians  furnishes  an  example  of  such  circular  letters,  differing  from  each 
other  by  considerable  variation.  The  apostle  liked  to  make  the  same 
epistle  serve  several  churches.  Col.  iv.  16.  The  passage  II.  Cor.  vi. 
14;  vii.  i, .seems  like  a  fragment  which  the  editors  did  not  wish  to  let 
perish,  and  which  may  have  been  intercalated  into  an  epistle,  the 
arrangement  of  which  it  disturbs. 

13.  Rom.  xvi.  3-16.     See  Introduction,  p.  41,  et  seq. 

14.  The  copy  which  had  xvi.  21-24,  f°r  an  ending,  speaks  of  Jason  and 

Sosipater  in  it,  prominently  and  as  persons  known. 

15.  The  eleven  first  chapters  are  dogmatic,  excepting  a  few  changes  in 

Chap.  i. 

1 6.  The  verses,  xv.  i,  13,  which  are  like  a  concession  to  the  Jewish-Chris- 

tians, appear  to  have  been  destined  to  sum  up  and  replace  Chaps,  xii, 
xiii.  and  xiv.  in  the  copy  for  the  church  of  Rome.  See  Introduction, 
p.  40,  et  seq. 


SAINT  PAUL.  411 

17.  See  Intro,  p.  44,  et  seq. 

18.  Rom.  i.  2-4;  14-17;  it  9-11.     Comp.  Eph.  ii.  and  iii. 

19.  Rom.  i.  1  8;  iii.  20. 

20.  Comp.  Acts  xxvi.  18. 

21.  Gen.  xv.  6.     The  Hebrew  passage  is  slightly  bent  from  its  meaning. 

22.  Rom.  iii.  21  ;  iv.  25. 

23.  Rom.  v.  i-n. 

24.  Comp.  I.  Cor.  xv,  44-50.     This  theory  of  an  Adam  type  (Adam  A'aa- 

mon)  has  been  much  developed  by  the  Cabbalists.  In  the  Talmud 
writings,  Adam  ha-rischon  simply  means  "the  first  man,"  Adam. 
Paul  creates  Ha-adam-ha  aJiarbn  by  antithesis. 

25.  Rom.  iv.  12,21-26. 

26.  Comp.  Rom.  iii.  5-8. 

27.  Comp.  I.  Cor.  xv.  56. 

28.  Rom.  vi.  vil     The  true  reading  of  viL  25,  appears  to  be 


29.  Allusion  to  two  Hebrew  words,  pronounced  by  glossologists. 

30.  Allusion  to  the  sighs  of  the  glossologies. 

31.  Rom.  viii,  1-27. 

32.  Rom.  viii.  28,  29. 

33.  Rom.  xiv.  15;  I.  Cor.  ix.  22;  PhiL  iij.  15,  et  seq. 

34.  Ex.  ix.  1  6. 

35.  Rom.  ix.  1-29. 

36.  Rom.  ix.  30-33,  and  x.  fentire. 

37.  II.  Cor.  iiL  13-16. 

38.  Rom.  xi. 

39.  Aoyinrf  A.arp£ia.  Comp.  I.  Petri,  ii.  2,  5.    Testam.  des  douze  patr. 

Levi  3. 

40.  Ideas   analogous  to  Philo.   (De  plantat.-  Noe,  §  25,   18-31;   De  vict. 

offer.  §  i-io)  and  with  the  Essenes  (Jos.  Ant.  XVIII.  i.  5;  Philo. 
Quod  omnis  probus  liber,  §  12).  Comp.  Theophrastes,  Ilspi  evd£- 
fieiaS  (Bernay's  Berlin,  1866.) 

41.  Comp.  above,  p.  243,  244. 

42.  Prov.  xxv.  21  ;  Deut.  xxxiL  35;  EccL  xxviii.  i. 

43.  Rom.  xii;  xiii.  8-10. 

44.  Epiph.  hoer.  xxx.  16;  Horn,  pseudo-clem.  XT.  6,  7,  8. 

45.  Aeirovpyoi  SEOV.     It  must  be  remembered  that  for  the  Jew  the 

tribute  implied  a  religious  idea.  Comp.  Melito.  in  Cureton.  Spicil. 
syr.  p.  43. 

46.  Rom.  xiii.  1-7. 

47.  Tacitus  Ann.  xiii.  50,  51;  Suetonius,  Nero,  10. 

48.  Suetonius  Claud.  25. 


412  SAINT  PAUL. 

49.  I.  Petri  iv.  14-16. 

50.  Rom.  xii.  17.     Cf.  I.  Thess.  iv.  n. 

51.  Rom.  xiii.  11-14. 

52.  Comp.  Gal.  4.  10;  Col.  ii.  16. 

53.  Epiph.  haer.  xxx.  18. 

54.  Epiph.  hser.  xxx.  2,  15,  16,  17,  18;  Horn,  pseudo-clem.  viii.  15;  xii.  6; 

xiv.  i;  xv.  7.  Comp.  Ebionite  accounts  concerning  style  of  life  of 
James  brother  of  the  Lord  (Eus.  H.  E.  ii.  23,  and  the  life  of  St. 
Matthew;  Clem.  Alex.  Pccdag.  II.  i.) 

55.  Dan.  i.  8,  12;  Jos.  Vitay  2,  3. 

56.  See,  above,  p.  238,  et  seq. 

57.  Rom.  xiv.  and  xv.  1-13,  by  observing  that  these  two  pages  repeat  each 

other,  and  do  not  constitute  part  of  the  same  copy  of  the  epistle.  See 
Intro,  p.  39,  40. 

58.  Rom.   xvi.   21-24.     See  Intro,    p.  43.     Comp.   the   adnatfjuoi,  like 

year"1  ovo/.ia  in  a  papyrus  of  the  Louvre.  Notices  et  extraits^  vol. 
XVIII.  2d  part.  p.  422. 

59.  Rom.  xvi.  i,  2.     See  Intro,  p.  41,  43,  and  44.     These  two  verses  are 

much  more  in  connection  with  what  follows  than  with  what  precedes. 
Although  nothing  was  superior  to  the  devotion  of  Phebe,  we  can 
understand  better  that  she  should  have  made  a  winter  voyage  of  eighty 
leagues  than  three  hundred  leagues.  Let  us  add,  that  it  was  more 
natural  for  Paul  to  have  recommended  Phebe  to  the  Ephesians, 
whom  he  knew,  than  to  the  Romans  whom  he  did  not  know. 

60.  Rom.  xvi.  17-20. 

61.  Rom.  i.  8. 

62.  Inference  of  Acts  xxviii.  1 7,  et  seq. 

63.  Epiph.  haer.  xxx.  18.     It  was  at  Rome  that  the  Ebionite  tradition  was 

strongest.  The  Horn,  pseudo-clem.  Ebionite  work  was  written  in 
Rome. 

64.  Comment,  in  XIII.  Epist.  Pauli  (of  Hilary),  in  works  of  St.  Ambrose, 

edit,  of  Bened.     Vol.  II.  2d  part,  col.  25  and  30. 

65.  The  passages  of  Epistle  to  Romans,  inferring  that  the  church  of  Rome 

was  composed  mostly  of  heathen  and  proselytes,  Rom.  i.  6,  ii.  13; 
vi.  14,  17.  e»t  seq.;  iii.  1-6;  xi.  13,  25,  28,  30;  xiv.  i,  et  seq.  xv. 
7,  et  seq.  arise  from  the  fact  that  the  Romans  were  not  the  sole 
intended  recipients  of  the  said  epistle.  These  formulas,  are,  more- 
over, so  vague  that  good  critics  have  been  able  to  conclude  therefrom, 
some,  that  the  epistle  to  Romans  was  written  to  converted  heathen, 
others,  that  it  was  written  to  Jewish-Christians. 

66.  II.  Cor.  15-16;  Rom.  xv.  20-21. 

67.  Rom.  xv.  14.  15. 

68.  See  Intro,  p.  40,  et  seq. 


SAINT  PAUL.  413 

69.  Rom.  i.  i,  5,  n,  13,  14;  xi.  13;  xv.  14-16,  18. 

70.  Rom.  i.   10,  et  seq;   xv.  22,  et  seq.  (Cf.  Acts  xix.  21),  show  that  the 

apostle  supposed  the  church  'of  Rome  in  full  conformity  of  principle 
with  him. 

71.  Rom.  i.  10,  et  seq.;  xv.  22,  et  seq.;  Acts  xix.  21. 

72.  Rom.  i.  5-7,  9,  et  seq.;  xi.  13.;  xv.  14-16. 

73.  Rom.  i.  ID,  et   seq.  xv.  29,  32,  parts  belonging  to  copy  addressed  to 

Romans. 

74.  Those  who  hold  that  Titus  iii.  12,  corresponds  to  any  historical  reality 

can  imagine  that  Paul,  during  these  three  winter  months,  made  the 
journey  to  Nicopolisof  Epirus,  and  find  superficial  support  in  II.  Cor. 
x.  14.  16;  Rom.xv.  19;  II.  Tim.  iv.  10.  But  this  removes  none  of 
the  difficulties  which  oppose  the  admission  of  the  Epistle  to  Titus. 

75.  Phil.  ii.  13. 

76.  Acts  xvi.  31. 

77.  The  Talmud  is  the  expression  of  these  endless  scruples. 

78.  See  Life  of  Jesus,  and  p.  275,  preceding ;   and  in  vol.  iv.  when  Epistle 

to  Colossians  shall  be  under  consideration.  Comp.  Pseudo-Herac. 
vii.  letter,  lines  87-89  (Bernays). 

79.  Elizabeth  Wetherell.     Comp.  Matt.  xi.  28.  } 
So.  See  Jewish  expression  of  same  sentiment  in  IV.  Book  of  Esdras  iii.  21, 

22;  iv.  30;  vii.  46.  et  seq.;  viii.  35,  et  seq. 

8 1.  Acts  xiii.  38-39. 

82.  Zosimus  ii.  29;  Sozomen  i.  5. 

83.  This  is,  above  all,  perceptible  in  the  writings  of  Luke.     We  see  in  the:n 

a  fixed  determination  to  show  the  conversion  of  the  heart,  taking 
place  outside  of  legal  and  moral  works.  In  this  respect,  Luke  is  the 
true  disciple  of  Paul. 

84.  Acts  xiii.  39. 

85.  Rom.  xv.  25. 

86.  Acts  xx.  22,  23. 

87.  Ps.  xliv.  (Vulg.  xliii. )  23, 

88.  Rom.  viii.  35-37. 

89.  Rom.  xv.  20,  21. 

90.  Rom.  xv.  30,  31, 

91.  Acts  xx.  22. 

92.  Rom.  xv.  25,  26,  31. 

93.  Acts  xx.  4.     Comp.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  3,  4;  II.  Cor.  vii.  19,  23;  ix.  4;  Rom, 

xvi.  21.  It  is  true  that  in  the  passage  of  Acts  just  quoted  we  read 
in  most  MSS.  2vv£t7tovro  de  OC.VTK)  axpi  z"7/s  A6ioc.<->.  But  if 
one  compares  all  the  passages  just  brought  forward,  one  will  be 
convinced  that  the  persons  named,  Acts  xx.  4,  were  mostly  depu- 
ties of  the  churches,  and  at  least  they  set  out  from  Corinth  with  the 
35* 


4^4  SAINT  PAUL. 

intention  of  going  to  Jerusalem.  If  this  was  a  simple  escort  of  res- 
pect, only  destined  to  accompany  the  apostle  to  Miletus,  how  can  we 
explain  the  fact  of  the  escort  being  composed  of  Macedonians,  Ephe- 
sians,  and  Lycaonians,  and  not  a  single  Corinthian  ?  Their  mission 
would  have  been  strangely  performed,  since  they  were  separated  from 
the  apostle  during  the  greater  part  of  the  journey.  Finally,  in  the 
opinion  of  all,  Trophimus  accompanied  the  apostle  to  Jerusalem. 
The  MS.  B.  of  the  Vatican,  the  Sinaiticust  and  the  Vulgate  have 
not  <x%pi  rrjS  AtfiaG. 

94.  Acts  xx.  3. 

95.  Acts  xx.  6. 

96.  Rom.  xv.  19,  23.     The  frontiers  of  Illyria  and  Macedonia  were  con- 

sidered as  separating  the  Orient  and  Occident.  The  passage  quoted 
in  no  wise  exacts  that  Paul  did  land  in  Illyria.  Comp.  II.  Cor.  x. 
14-16.  lXX.vpiKov  does  not  only  designate  the  province  of  Illyria 
(or  rather  Dalmatia),  properly  speaking.  Iltyricum,  in  the  common 
sense  of  the  word,  embraced,  beside,  many  countries  to  the  north 
and  east,  which  did  not  constitute  part  of  the  province  of  Illyria  (see 
Desjardins  in  Comptes  rendus  de  I'Acad.  dcs  Inscr.  1868,  p.  112  et 
seq.  Ann.  de  Plnst.  arch,  de  Rome,  1868,  p,  7,  et  seq.),  portions 
of  the  province  of  Macedonia  (Strabo,  II.  v.  30;  vii.  v.  6;  vii.  8.  vii. 
frag.  II.  p.  275,  line  21,  et  seq.;  ed.  Didot.  comp.  VII.  vii.  4). 
When  Paul  was  at  Berea,  he  had  been  //e  %pi  TOV  IXXv  pmov . 

97.  Rom.  xv.  20,  21.     See  above  p.  264,  265. 

98.  Rom.  xv.  23. 

99.  Rom.  xvi.  25,  26;  II.  Tim.  iv.  17.    Cf.  Acts  i.  8;  xiii.  47;  Rom.  x.  18; 

Isa.  xlix.  6,  Clem.     Rom.  Ad  Cor.  I.  Chap.  5. 

100.  Rom.  i.  10,  et  seq.;  xii.  24,  28,  29,  32;  Acts  xix.  21. 

101.  Rom.  xv.  14.  28. 

102.  The  contrary  assertion  is  a  mere  supposition,  or  only  rests  upon  apoc- 

ryphal documents.  See  Jost.  Geschichte  de  Israditen,  v.  12,  et  seq. 
Amador  de  los  Rios,  Estudios  sobre  los  Judios  de  Espana  (Madrid, 
1848).  c.  i. 

103.  Clem.  Rom.;  Epist.  ad  Cor.  i.  5.  II.  Cor.  x.  13-16;  Rom,  xv.  19,  23, 

24,  xvi.  26;  II.  Tim.  iv.  17.  Cf.  Epist.  Clem,  ad  Jac.  (at  the  head 
of  the  Homilies),  §  i. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

1.  Acts  xx.  3,  4;  xxiv.  17. 

2.  An  inference  from  the  entire  recital.    See  above  all,  Acts  xx.  16,  13,  16, 

17,  1 8,  36. 


SAINT  PAUL.  415 

3.  Comp.  Mischna,  Erttbin,  iv.  2. 

4.  Comp.  Thil.  ii.  12,  iii.  18. 

5.  Acts  xx.  5,  6.   See  above,  p.  106,  et  seq.  .The  vividness  and  correctness  of 

Arts  xx.  6,  et  seq. ,  compared  to  the  dryness  of  what  precedes,  are  surely 
by  a  man  who,  in  his  narration,  passes  from  things  which  he  has  not 
seen,  and  which  he  does  not  well  know,  to  things  which  he  has  wit- 
nessed. 

6.  For  all  this  one  needs  only  to  follow,  step  by  step,  the  narration  of  the 

Acts  xx.  6,  et  seq. ,  a  narration  the  form  of  which  guarantees  exactitude. 

7.  Acts  xx.  23. 

8.  II.  Kings  iv.  34. 

9.  Now  in  ruins,  village  of  Beiram  keui. 

10.  Now  Kastro  of  Metelin. 

1 1.  Doubtless  at  the  Capital  of  the  isle,  now  Port  Tigani,  near  the  village 

of  Cora. 

12.  Strabo,  XIV.  i.  12,  13,  14;  Pliny,  v.  31;  Ptol.  V.  it  8.    See  maps  of 

Eng.  Admr.,  Nos.  1530  and  1555. 

13.  Strabo  XIV.  i.  6.     The  deposits  of  the  Meander  have  located  Miletus 

(now  Palatia)  inland,  (Map  of  the  Admiralty,  No.  1555). 

14.  The  author  of  the  Acts  was  present  at  this  discourse,  but  it  is  clear  that 

we  must  not  look  for  a  literal  reproduction  here.  The  narrator 
doubtless  modified  the  discourse  according  to  the  state  of  mind  in 
wRich  he  was  when  writing  it.  The  prediction  of  verse  25  does  not 
well  accord  with  Phil.  ii.  24,  and  Philemon,  22. 

15.  From  dreams  and   presentiments,  or  from  fortuitous  signs  considered 

prophetic,  or  from  the  prophets.     Comp.  Acts  xxi.  4,  10,  et  seq. 

1 6.  Here  the  author  of  Acts  forces  the  tone,  and  offers  us  ideas  not  of  58, 

the  year  in  which  we  are,  but  of  the  years  75  or  80. 

17.  The  capitals  of  the  isles  of  Coos  and  Rhodes  have  remained  in  the  same 

spot  as  in  antiquity. 

1 8.  .Now  in  ruins. 

19.  Acts  xi.  19. 

20.  Acts  xv.  3. 

21.  Saint  Jean  d'Acre. 

22.  See  Apostles. 

23.  Eph.  iv.  n;  Eusebius,  Hist.  Eccl.  Hi.  37. 

24.  Acts  xxi.  n,  to  be  compared  with  II.  Kings  xxii.  ii. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

I.  Acts  xx.  1 6.    By  adding  the  days  enumerated  in  Acts,  by  allowing  only  five 
days  for  the  sail  from  Patara  to  Tyre,  four  days  for  repose  at  Cesarea, 


41 6  SAINT  PAUL. 

by  reckoning  all  the  rest  at  the  shortest,  we  obtain  just  fifty  days  from 
the  Passover  celebrated  at  Philippi.  But  four  days  are  too  little  to 
correspond  to  r/jnepa's  TthstovS,  passed  at  Cesarea.  Besides,  the  turn 
of  verse  xxi.  16,  would  not  have  been  so  doubting,  if  Paul  had  arrived 
at  the  period  which  he  had  agreed  upon.  Finally,  Acts  xxi.  17,  et 
seq. ,  do  not  lead  us  to  think  that  Paul  passed  the  feast  at  Jerusalem. 

2.  Acts  xxi.  21. 

3.  Apoc.  ii.  14,  20;  Horn,  pseudo-clem.  vii.  4,  8. 

4.  Comp.  xv.  20;  I.  Cor.  viii.  i,  et  seq.     II.  Cor.  vi.  16,  et  seq.;  Jude  7, 

Ii;  II.  Petri  ii.  15;  Apoc.  ii.  14,  15,  20;  Justin,  Dial,  cum  Tryph., 
35;  Pseudo-Clem.  Recognit.  iv.  36. 

5.  James  ii.  21-24.     Comp.  Rom.  iii.  27,  28;  ix.  2-5. 

6.  Acts  xv.  21 ;  xxi.  20. 

7.  Acts  xxi.  17.  et  seq. 

8.  Actsi.  13;  iii.  I,  3,  4,  n;  iv.  13,  19;  viii.  14. 

9.  Acts  xxi.  20. 

10.  James  ii.  5,  et  seq. 

11.  James  L  10,  ii;  ii.  et  seq.;  iv.  i,  et  seq.;  v.  i,  et  seq.;  9. 

12.  Remember  the  expression  of  Saint  Jerome,  Omnis  dives  aut  iniquus  est 

aut  hares  iniqui. 

13.  James  ii.  i,  et  seq. 

14.  James  ii.  6. 

15.  Acts  xxi.  1 8.,  et  seq. 

16.  See  above,  Chap.  III.  note  61,  Chap.  III.  note  86,  and  The  Apostles. 

17.  Rom.  xv.  31. 

1 8.  Acts  xxi.  20,  et  seq. 

19.  Acts  xxiv.  17. 

20.  I.  Cor.  xvi.  i,  et  seq.;  II.  Cor.  viii.,  ix.;  Rom.  xv.  26,  et  seq. 

21.  See  above,  Chap,  X.  note  71. 

22.  Comp.  epistle  of  Jude,  n. 

23.  The  objection  to  this  hypothesis  is,  that  we  can  hardly  conceive  that  at 

the  period  of  the  editing  of  Acts,  the  first  impression  of  a  myth  so 
injurious  to  Paul,1  should  have  been  sufficiently  effaced  for  the  editor 
(essentially  favorable  to  Paul)  to  introduce  it  into  his  recital  without 
seeing  the  original  sense.  That  he  introduced  it  to  distinguish  Paul 
from  the  fictitious  Simon  of  the  Jewish-Christians,  is  still  more  impro- 
bable. The  editor  of  the  Acts  strives  rather  to  lessen  than  exagge- 
rate the  crime  of  Simon. 

24.  Acts  xxi.  20,  et  seq. 

25.  We  follow  the  Vaticamis.    This  verse  appears  to  have  been  retouched. 

26.  See  above,  p.  89,  103,  104,  238,  et  seq. 

27.  We  can  not  positively  infer  from  the  text  of  Acts  that  Paul  himself  be- 

came a  Nazarite,  although  the  latter  interpretation  would  appear  the 
best. 


SAINT  PAUL.  417 

28.  Jos.  Ant.  XIX.  vi.  i;  Bereschith  rabba  c.  xci.;  Koheleth  rabba.  vii.  II. 

Talm.  de  ger.  Nazir.  v.  5;  Bcrakoth  vii.  2. 

29.  Acts  xxi.  25,  reading  of  Griesbach  and  of  the  admitted  text. 

30.  Num.  vi.  13,  14;  Acts  xxi.  24,  26,  27;  Jos.  B.  J.  II.  xv.  i;  Talm.  of 

Jerus.  Nazir.  i,  3,  and  other  Talmudic  passages  already  quoted. 

31.  An  inference  of  Acts  xxiv.  1 1. 

32.  Especially  by  comparing  /erse  xxi.  22,  as  given  by  most  MSS.,  to  xxi.  30. 

33.  See  preceding,  p.  288,  et  seq. 

34.  Epist.  2.  ad  Cor.  5. 

35.  Tacitus  Hist.  ii.  79.     Pilate  already  resided  there.     Jos.  Ant.  XVlII. 

iii.  i;  B.  J.  II.  ix.  2,  3,  not  habitually,  however.     Philo.  Leg.  38. 

36.  Jos.  Ant.  XX.  viii.  7,  9;  B.  J.  II.  xiii.  7;  xiv.  4,  et  seq.;  xviii.  i;  III. 

ix.  i;  VII.  iii.  i;  Philo.  Leg  38. 

37.  Comp.  Cor.  inscr.  gr..  No.  4528  e;  Mission  de  Phenide.  p.  202. 

38.  Jos.  B.  J.  V.  v.  8;  de  Vogue,  Le  Temple  de  Jerusalem,  p.  52,  pi.  xv.,  xvi. 

39.  Acts  vii.  54;  xxii.  13. 

40.  See  Apostles. 

41.  Doubt  here  would  be  allowable.     The  author  of  Acts  frequently  yields, 

especially  in  his  chapters,  to  the  desire  to  introduce  discourses,  and  to 
attribute  oratorical  attitudes  to  the  apostle  (xvii.  22;  xx.  18;  xxi.  40; 
xxiii.  i;  xxiv.  10 ;  xxv.  10;  xxv.  23;  xxvi.  i).  No  historian  of 
antiquity  hesitates  thus  to  attribute  harangues  to  the  principal  charac- 
ters of  his  history. 

42.  Both  at  Jerusalem  and  Philippi,  Paul  purposely  allows  the  authorities  to 

get  into  trouble  through  ignorance,  and  does  not  declare  his  title 
until  they  have  implicated  themselves.  One  might  here  suspect  a 
determination  taken  by  the  narrator ;  and  one  is  often  led  to  ask 
himself  whether  the  author  of  the  Acts,  always  desirous  of  giving  the 
Roman  right  to  the  sect,  did  not  upon  his  own  authority  confer  the 
title  upon  Paul.  However,  as  these  two  recitals  are  of  circumstances 
witnessed  by  the  author,  we  are  allowed  to  suppose  this  a  custom 
common  to  Paul.  Traditions  in  regard  to  Paul's  death  also  suppose 
him  a  Roman  citizen,  (Ter.  Prascr.  36).  But  this  sort  of  a  death 
may  have  been  inferred  from  the  assertion  of  Acts.  TpiS  £  pa  fid  id - 
^rjv  (II.  Cor.  xi.  25),  and  the  6rjy^iara  (Gal.  vi.  17),  would 
strengthen  the  doubt ;  for  it  is  not  natural  that  Paul  should  have  re- 
peated the  scene  at  Philippi  three  times  without  counting  the  present. 
The  devolution  of  the  trial  of  Paul  upon  Caesar  does  not  necessarily 
suppose  the  Roman  right.  See  Jos,  Vita.  3.  The  quality  of  Tar- 
siot  constitutes  a  much  stronger  induction,  Renier,  Inscr.  de  FAlgerie, 
No.  127  (line  26)  and  721,  and  in  Wallon.  Croyance  due  d  I'Evan- 
gile,  second  edit.,  p.  509.  Grotefend,  Imp.  rom.  Tib.  descriptum, 
p.  149,  150. 


418  SAINT  PAUL. 

43.  Cic.  In  Verr.  II.  v.  62,  et  seq. 

44.  Digest  XLVIII.  xviii.  i. 

45.  Acts  xxii.  30.     Comp.  Acts  xxiii.  29. 

46.  The  Talmud  calls  him  Johanan  beii  Nedaba'i,  Johanan  is  equivalent  in 

meaning  to  Hanania.     Hanan  is  the  abridged  form. 

47.  Jos.  Ant.  XX.  v.  4,  viii.  8;  Talm.  de  Bab.  Pcsachim  57  a;  Kerithouth 

28  a.  There  are  difficulties  against  this,  taken  from  Jos.  Ant.  XX. 
vi.  2;  viii.  5.  Perhaps  Ananias,  like  Hanan,  in  the  time  of  Jesus, 
preserved,  after  his  deposition,  the  directing  power.  Cf.  Jos.  B.  J. 
*  II.  xii.  6.  Derenbourg,  Palestine  apres  les  Thalmuds,  i.,  p.  230,  et 
seq. 

48.  Talm.  de  Bab.  loco  citato. 

49.  Jos.  Ant.  xx.  ix.  2.  B.  J.  II.  xvii.  9. 

50.  Jos,  B.  J.  II.  xii.  6.     Cf.  Derenbourg  op.  cit.  p.  231,  note. 

51.  Ex.  xxii.  28. 

52.  For  t  he  antipathy  of  Pharisees  against  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  in  gene- 

ral, against  the  high-priesthood,  see  Talm.  de  Bab.,  places  quoted  in 
parje  preceding. 

53.  Cf.  Jos.  Ant.  xviii.  i,  3,  4;  B.  J.  II.  viii.  14. 

54.  We  believe  firmly  that  there  is  some  artificial  arrangement  in  this  recital 

of  the  Acts. 

55.  Cf.  Talm.  de  Jer.  Aboda  zara.  i.  9. 

56.  A£c,iof\.dfioi,frumentarii.  Cf.  Thes.  of  H.  Etienne  at  the  word  de&o- 


57.  Probably  Kfar-Sraba.     See  Robinson,  iii.  259. 

58.  Itiner.  a  Bur  dig,  Hieros,  p.  600  (Wesserling). 

59.  For  the  explanation  of  Acts  xxiv.  i,  n,  see  hereafter  note  ii.,  chapter 

xx.     The  journey  from  Cesarea  to  Jerusalem  is  not  included  in  esti- 
mate of  verse  1  1. 

60.  An  inference  of  Acts  xxiv.  23. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

1.  Tacitus  Hist.  v.  9. 

2.  Jos.  Ant.  xx.  i;  viii.  5;  B.  J.  II.  xii.  8.;  Tacitus  Ann.  xii.  54;  Hist. 

v.  9. 

3.  Suet.  Claud.,  28. 

4.  Tacitus  Hist.  v.  9. 

5.  Tacitus  Hist.  v.  9. 

6.  Tacitus  Ann.  xii.  54. 


SAINT  PAUL.  419 

7.  Jos.  Ant.  xx.  viii.  5. 

8.  Tacitus  Hist.  v.  9. 

9.  Digest.  XLVIII.  iii.  6. 

10.  Digest.  XLVIII.  iii.   De  custodia  et  exhibitione  reorum   \.   12,  14; 

Seneca  Epist.  V;  Dio.  of  Alex,  in  Eus.  H.  E.  VI.  40;  Acts  xxviii. 
16.  The  passage  from  Manlius,  Astr.  V.  619,  620,  proves  little 
here.  Compare  Acts  xvi.  27;  xxvii.  42. 

11.  Actsxxix.  i.     The  five  days  are  to  be  reckoned  from  the  day  when 

Paul  leaves  Jerusalem,  as  proved  by  Acts  xxiv.  n. 

12.  See  Freund  or    Forcellini  at  this  word.      St.  Aug.  In.   Joh.  Evang. 

tract.  XLXI.  §9. 

13.  Acts  xxiv.  27.  xxvi.  29. 

14.  Jos.  Ant.  XVIII.  vi.  7. 

15.  This  is  the  conclusion  from  this  mission  in  the  passage  Acts  xxvii.  2, 

(compare  xx.  4);  brought  together  with  II.  Tim.  iv.  12;  Titus  iii. 
12;  by  observing  that  these  two  latter  epistles  are  imagined  and  full 
of  inexplicable  arrangements. 

1 6.  II.  Tim.  iv.  20.     Same  observation. 

17.  Jos.  Ant.  XX.  viii.  u;    Vita  3. 

18.  Tacitus  Ann.  XIII.  14. 

19.  Jos.  B.  J.    II.  xiv.  i. 

20.  Jos.  Ant.  XX.  v.  ii.    Paul  was  taken  to  Cesarea  in  August,  58.    Fes- 

tus  arrived  there  two  years  later.  The  remark  made  Acts  xxvii.  9, 
agrees  with  these  dates. 

21.  See  passages  Pesackim  and  Kerithoutht  already  quoted. 

22.  Acts  xix.  21;  xxiii.  n. 

23.  Pliny  Epist.  X.  97;  Jos.  Vita  3;  Dio.  Cass.  LX.  17. 

24.  Jos.  Ant.  XX.  vii.  Juvenal  vi.  156,  et  seq. 

25.  It  is  not  impossible  that  the  author  of  the  Acts  imagined  this  entire 

episode  in  order  to  show  Paul  setting  forth  his  doctrine  once  more 
before  the  heathen  world.  Compare  episode  of  the  Areopagus. 
Acts  xxiv.  24,  25.  It  is  difficult,  nevertheless,  to  assert  that  this 
recital  is  entirely  without  foundation.  Mat.  x.  18,  19;  Lukexii.  *n, 
contain  allusions  to  these  apologies  pronounced  by  the  apostle  before 
diverse  authorities. 

26.  See  Apostles. 

27.  Acts  xxvii.  2;  PhiL  Li.  n,  4,  19;  CoL  i.  i;  Phil,  i.;  Heb.  xiii.  23. 


420  SAINT  PAUL. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

1.  Determined  by  Acts  xxvii.  9;  and  agreeing  with  the  series  of  anterior 

facts. 

2.  For  the  entire  voyage  compare  Jos.  Vita,  3.     For  the  technical  part  of 

the  navigation,  see  James  Smith,  Voyage  and  Shipwreck  of  St.  Paul 
(London,  1848);  Conybeare  &  Howson,  Life  of  St.  Paul,  12.  p. 
308,  et  seq. 

3.  Now  in  ruins. 

4.  The  MS.  B.  only  has  (Acts  xxvii.  37),    "seventy-six."    Compare  Jos. 

Vita,  3. 

5.  Also  named  Salmonium  or  Samonium. 

6.  Mem.  (unpub. )  of  Mr.  Thenou,  on  Isle  of  Crete. 

7.  See  large  map  of  Crete  by  Spratt,  (1858  and  1862).     Pococke  found 

the  little  bay  under  consideration  still  bearing  the  name  of  Ai/j.£cara.$ 
HaXov^y  under  Cape  Littinos,  toward  the  middle  of  the  south  coast 
of  the  Isle.  (Descript.  of  the  East,  vol.  II.  part  i.  p.  250,  251, 
and  the  map).  Several  travellers  saw  the  bay  again  bearing  the 
same  name.  (Smith,  p.  30-38,  44,  45;  Conybeare  &  Howson,  II. 
p.  329,  330).  Messrs.  Thenon  and  Spratt  (Travels  and  Researches 
in  Crete,  II.  p.  i,  et  seq.  London,  1865)  found  the  same.  KaXoi 
Aijuiovs1?,  or  Kalo-Limniones  again,  and  before  the  little  island 
which  closes  the  Good  Havens,  a  little  to  the  east ;  a  point  with 
ruins,  projecting  into  the  and  called  by  the  peasants  Lasaea.  This 
second  name  comes  probably  from  a  recent  identification,  a  work  of 
the  monks  or  teachers  who  have  visited  the  topography  of  the  Acts 
in  these  latitudes.  A  large  convent  situated  near  by  proves  that  at 
an  early  day  Christian  recollections  attached  themselves  to  this  place. 
There  are  few  ports  on  the  south  coast  of  Crete,  and  supposing  the 
expression  Kakoi  Ai/noreS  to  be  the  result  of  subsequent  iden- 
tification, there  is  but  little  choice.  However,  it  may  be,  Aa66ia, 
Aadsa,  Aka66a.)  probably  correspond  to  ~>O\.v66r]v  or  Aititfr/r 
of  Strabo,  (x.  iv.  14),  to  Ai66rf*  of  Stephen  of  Byzantium,  (at  the 
word  3>aidro$)  to  Lysia  of  Peutinger's  map. 

8.  Vegetius  IV.  38;  Horace  Od.  I.  iv.;   III.  vii.  2,  et  seq.;  Hesiod  Op. 

et  dies.  670,  et  seq.;  Aristoph.  Aves,  712;  Philo.  Leg.  §3;  Comp. 
Titus  iii.  12. 

9.  Strabo,  X.  iv.  2;   Ptol.  III.  xvii.  3.     Now  Loutro,  port   of  the  Spha- 

kiotes.  See  Spratt  Travels,  II.  p.  247,  et  seq.,  and  his  map. 
Smith,  Shipwreck,  p.  51;  Pashley,  Travels  in  Crete,  II.  259; 
Conybeare  &  Howson,  II.  p.  231,  et  seq.  It  is  difficult  to  justify 
BXzrtovra  xara  Xafla.  nod  Kara 


SAINT  PAUL.  421 

10.  Gregalia  of  the  Levantines  is  this  same  word  euroclydon  (as  Etiripe 

has  made  Egripon).  See  Conybeare  &  Howson,  II.  p.  336;  Spratt 
II.  p.  II,  et  seq. 

11.  Also  called  Claudos  or  Gaudos.     Now  Gafda  or  Gando  or  Gaudonesi, 

or  Gozzo.     Not  to  be  confounded  with  Gozzo  near  Malta. 

12.  Conf.  Thucyl.  xxix.  8;  and  Greek  Diets,  at  word  vno^f-ia.     Conf. 

Conybeare  &  Howson  II.  311,  et  seq. 

13.  Actsxxvii.  27;  Jos.   Vita,  3;  Hor.  Od.  I.  iii.  15;  Ovid.  Pastes,  IV.  501; 

Trist?s  I.  xi.  4;  Ptol.  Geogr.  III.  xv.  2;  VIII.  ix.  2;  xii.  2;  Pau; 
sanias,  V.  xxv.  3;  Procop.  Bell.  Vand.  I.  14;  De  aedif.  IV.  i. 

14.  Smith,  Shipwreck,  p.  92,  et  seq. ;  Conybeare  &  Howson  II.  p.  245,  346. 

15.  See  pictures  of  vessels  so  numerous  on  sculptured  monuments  of  an- 

tiquity; in  particular  in  the  paintings  of  Herd.;  in  the  Virgil  of  the 
Vatican.  Consult,  for  instance,  Diet,  de  FAcad.  de  beaux  arts,  II. 
p.  337;  Gal.  Gloss,  nautique,  at  the  words  barca  duoruni  thimon- 
arum,  barre  dn  gouvernail-,  W.  Smith,  Diet,  of  Greek  and  Roman 
Antiqs.-,  article  navis  Martin  &  Cahier  Mel.  d'archeol.  III.  pi. 
i;  B.  GraserZte  veterttm  re  navaU;  (Berlin,  1864);  tab.  iv.  and  v. 
ibid.  Die  Gemmen  dcs  Koen.  Museum  zn  Berlin  mit  Darstel- 
lungen  antiker  Schiffe  (Berlin,  1867),  pi.  I.  and  II. 

16.  The  narrator  yields  to  the  very  natural  temptation  of  exaggerating  the 

role  of  Paul. 

17.  Concerning  the  true  meaning  of  aprs/ioor,  see  H.  Etieune  Freund, 

Gal.  at  words  apre/j-oav,  artimon,  and  artemon,  etc.  See  also 
coins  of  Commodus,  of  the  type  No.  715  of  Cohen.  Med.  imp.  III. 
pi.  ii. ;  Gal.  Gloss,  nant.  I.  p.  256;  Conybeare  &  Howson,  I.  p.  56; 

II.  p.    317;  Graser    Gemmen  p.   g,  n,  19,  21;  pi.  i.    and  ii.     The 
little  sloping  mast  of  vessels  seen  on  the  numerous  coins  of  Hadrian, 
of  Lucius  Verus,  of  Commodus,  of  the  city  of  Godara,  appears  to  be 
a  bowsprit  or  a  flag  staff.     Comp.  Gaser,  1.  c.  W.  Smith,  1.  c. 

18.  The  Cala  di  san  Paolo  at  Malta  (see  chart  of  Eng.  Admir.)  corresponds 

well  to  the  Acts.  The  isle  of  Salmonetta  or  Gzeier  would  be  the 
rozroS  SiSa  XaodoS.  See  Smith,  p.  19,  et  seq.  Conybeare  and 
Howson,  II.  p.  351,  et  seq. 

19.  Cic.  In  Verrcm,  II.  iv.  46.     Uiod.  de  Sic.  V.  xii.  2,  4.     Ovid.  Pastes 

III.  567.     Silius  Italicus  XIV.   251.      Corp.   inscr.  gr.  No.  5754. 
Henzen  No.  6124.     The  inscripts.  of  Malta  are  Punic,  Greek,  and 
Latin. 

20.  Comp.  Mar.  xvi.  18. 

21.  O  Ttpcoro's  rri<->  rrjtfov.     Comp.  Corp.  inscr.  gr.  No.  5754,  but  not 

MEL.  PRIMVS,  of  the  inscription  of  Henzen  No.  6124,  where  Meli- 
tensium  is  governed  by  what  precedes,  and  primus  governs  what 
follows,  contrary  to  the  idea  of  Ciantar.     Note  the  Latin  names  of 
the  two  principes. 
36 


422  SAINT  PAUL. 

22.  The  common  language  of  the  island  then  was  Punic,  Acts  xxviii.   2,  4. 

23.  Strabo,  XVII.  i,  7;   Pliny,  XXXVI.  14;   Suet.  Aug.  98;   Jos.  Cita  3; 

Philo.  In  Flacc,  §5. 

24.  Now  St.  Donato. 

25.  Cic.  Ad  Alt.  II.  10,   II,    1-3;  Itiner.  Anton,  p.  107, 

Now  Cisterna. 

26.  Borghesi,  Pastes  cons,  (still  unpub.)  at  year  61. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

1.  Acts  xx.  25. 

2.  Rom.   xv.    19,   20.     Compare  Acts  xx.  25-27;  Col.  i.   6,  and  above 

all,  23. 

3.  We  can  suppose  that  the  salutations  of  Rom.  xvi.  3-16  include  nearly 

all  the  church  of  Paul  at  Ephesus.  Paul  salutes  particularly  twenty- 
six  persons ;  he  mentions  three  domestic  churches,  and  twice  he  em- 
ploys the  formula  uai  rov<s  6vv  (x.vrot'->.  Reckoning  twenty  for 
each  domestic  church,  and  ten  for  those  comprised  in  the  formulas 
HO.I  rov<3  6w  avroiZ,  we  make  the  church  of  Ephesus  of  100-120 
persons.  The  church  of  Corinth  must  have  been  less  numerous, 
since  it  only  formed  a  simple  ecclesia,  which  was  all  held  in  one  house. 
(Rom.  xvi.  23  Greek  text.)  Let  us  reckon  200  Christians  in  Mace- 
donia, 200-300  for  the  churches  of  Galatia,  there  still  remain  to 
reach  1000,  the  number  of  300,  400  which  is  apparently  more  than 
sufficient  to  cover  the  churches  of  Athens,  Troas,  Cyprus,  and  other 
secondary  groups. 

4.  Cf.  Apostles,  and  p.  201,  202,  220,  et  seq. 

5.  The  group  from  which  issued  the  epistles  either  authentic  or  apocryphal, 

of  Clement  Roman,  Ignatius  and  Polycarp. 

6.  A  fact  very  apparent  with  the  author  of  the  Acts.     See  Apostles. 

7.  See  especially,  Acts  xx.  10,  et  seq.;  xxvii.  21,  et  seq. 

8.  The  expression  "St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,"  is  common;  but  that  of  St. 

Paul  alone,  is  rather  rare.  St.  Pol  de  Leon,  St.  Paul  of  Nar- 
bonne,  are  local  saints. 

9.  The  recitals   relative  to  St.  Trophimus  and  to  St.   Crescent   are  less 

legends,  than  intentional  misconstructions  put  upon  history,  in  order 
to  gratify  the  vanity  of  certain  churches. 

IO.  See  especially,  Phil.  iii.   2.     The  work  which  resembles  most  in  spirit 
the  epistle  to  the  Galatians  is  the  De  captivitate  babylonica  Ecclesicz. 


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Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
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